Alabama
Alabama paying $250,000 to mother of man fatally beaten in prison but admits no wrongdoing
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has settled a wrongful death lawsuit against corrections officers who beat a man to death at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in 2019, though the department continues to deny that the officers used excessive force.
A settlement payment of $250,000 was issued on Aug. 16 in the case of Sondra Ray v. Roderick Gadson, et al., according to data from Alabama’s Department of Finance.
Before reaching the settlement, the state paid 11 different attorneys or firms a total of $393,000 to defend the corrections officers named in the lawsuit, the records show.
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Ray filed the lawsuit in 2020 after the October 2019 death of her son, Steven Davis.
The day before he was removed from life support, Davis, 35, was rushed to UAB Hospital with critical injuries after an incident involving multiple officers inside a “behavior modification unit” or “hot bay” at Donaldson prison. A medical examiner classified Davis’ death as a homicide, caused by “blunt force injuries of head sustained during an assault.”
Ray, reached by phone, had no comment on the lawsuit or settlement agreement, but said nothing will ever heal the grief she experienced in losing her son five years ago.
“It never leaves you,” she said. “If they hadn’t killed him, I wonder if he’d be here right now helping me. I wonder if he’d have kids. What they took from me will never go away.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall declined to press criminal charges against the officers involved, and the department’s internal investigation determined the officers’ use of force against Davis was justified.
The criminal investigation began in the Bessemer district attorney’s office, but in 2020, Bessemer DA Lynneice Washington recused her office when she learned one of the officers involved in Davis’ death was related to an assistant prosecutor in Bessemer. At that point, the criminal investigation was transferred to the attorney general’s office.
Hank Sherrod, an attorney representing Ray, said in a statement that “ADOC and the criminal justice system failed to hold anyone accountable.”
“Sandy would trade every dollar to have her son back or to see the officers who murdered her son go to prison, but she is glad to close this chapter in her life,” the statement said.
Four officers were named in the lawsuit. Two of them were still working for ADOC as of this month, according to payment records available in the Open Alabama checkbook database maintained by the Department of Finance.
ADOC confirmed that the two officers were still employed by the department but did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit settlement.
From the beginning, ADOC framed the incident that led to Davis’ death as one in which officers felt threatened by Davis — an account disputed by Ray and some witnesses. She described her son as a follower, not an instigator.
“Stevie was in a confined area,” she said in 2019, shortly after his death. “He wouldn’t create an altercation. He didn’t want to die. He was coming home to take care of me.”
A statement ADOC released two days after Davis’ death said Davis rushed out of his cell brandishing a prison-made weapon in each hand, and refused to comply with officers’ demands to drop his weapons.
“At that time, correctional officers applied physical measures to diffuse the threat in order to remove the weapons from the scene and secure the inmate,” the statement concluded.
But the civil complaint filed by Ray stated that officers “brutally beat Davis, ultimately killing him,” and therefore subjected him to excessive force, violating his constitutional rights. The complaint disputed the account by ADOC, saying Davis dropped the weapons and submitted to officers, but they still beat him, striking him in the head with batons and stomping on his head.
“The blows to Davis’ head are considered deadly force and would have been excessive even if Davis was resisting the officers,” the complaint argued.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a report in July 2020 concluding that officers within ADOC frequently use excessive force on men housed throughout Alabama prisons, giving rise to systemically unconstitutional conditions.
While not naming Davis, the report described his death. It stated that he had initially rushed toward another prisoner, not officers, and that an officer sprayed him with a chemical agent and struck him on the arm, causing him to drop a weapon.
“A second correctional officer responded to the scene and administered palm-heel strikes to the prisoner’s head as well as knee-to-head strikes as he tried to disarm the prisoner,” the report stated. “The prisoner eventually went to the ground face down and officers reported that the prisoner concealed a knife between his upper torso and the floor. Numerous prisoner-witnesses, however, reported that correctional officers continued to strike the prisoner after he dropped any weapons and posed no threat.”
Davis was in prison on a probation violation related to drug possession. In 2009, he pleaded guilty in a fatal robbery in which he drove a vehicle involved in the incident. He was killed several days after ADOC transferred him to Donaldson Prison in Bessemer from Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent, a town in Bibb County.
After her son was killed, Ray spoke to lawmakers about her family’s experience, telling them she had to have a closed casket at his funeral because of the severity of his head and facial injuries. She continued to speak publicly about the lack of transparency by ADOC, generating national media coverage of the incident in the year following Davis’ death.
Legal spending by ADOC spiked in recent years as the embattled department faces hundreds of lawsuits filed by prisoners and their families over excessive force, wrongful death, failure to protect from violence and medical neglect.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state in 2020, saying “the state failed or refused to correct the unconstitutional conditions in Alabama’s prisons for men.”
Two class action lawsuits against ADOC are now in their 10th year of litigation: one over the lack of mental health care across the system and the other addressing violence inside St. Clair Correctional Facility.
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act was signed on Wednesday, March 4, by Governor Kay Ivey to introduce limits on children’s screen time access in Alabama.
The Act is one of Ivey’s 2026 legislative priorities.
“Video screen access in classrooms can boost learning skills among our young children, but too much screen exposure can also be detrimental, harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said. “The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act ensures our youngest students are provided a healthy balance of screen time and traditional learning in order to protect social and emotional development.”
Under the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education will be required to work with the Department of Human Resources and the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for screen-based media.
Guidelines will be implemented in early childhood education programs like day care centers, day care homes, night care facilities, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and group day care homes. The Act was sponsored by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.
“House Bill 78 establishes clear, research-based expectations for how technology is used in early childhood settings,” said Ross. “The goal is not to eliminate technology, but to ensure its use is developmentally appropriate and never replaces the hands-on learning and human interaction young children need most. By setting thoughtful guardrails and aligning classroom practices with the best available research on early brain development, this legislation supports educators, protects the quality of early learning and reinforces our commitment to giving Alabama’s youngest students the strongest possible start.”
A training program will also be created by the Department of Early Childhood Education to create a baseline for the appropriate use of child screentime for teachers and staff members supervising children.
“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act represents another important step in ensuring Alabama’s youngest children grow and learn in environments that prioritize human interaction, exploration and healthy development,” said Chesteen. “Building on the progress made with last year’s FOCUS Act, this legislation continues our commitment to protecting the most formative years of childhood. I am grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and my colleagues in the Legislature for recognizing the importance of this issue and working together to support Alabama families.”
The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will become effective on January 1, 2027.
The Alabama State Conference of the NAACP has announced its official schedule for the 2026 NAACP-sponsored Selma Jubilee Bridge Crossing Weekend, set for March 6–8 in Montgomery and Selma.
Held under the theme “A Time for Standing,” the annual commemoration honors the Foot Soldiers of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches and recognizes the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and Rev. Jesse Jackson for their roles in advancing civil rights and voting access.
The three-day event will bring together national, state and local leaders, along with youth and college chapters, faith partners and community members for activities focused on reflection, education and civic engagement.
Scheduled events include a civic discussion titled “The New Civic Path” on March 6 at the Montgomery Interpretive Center at Alabama State University, followed by a Jubilee Gala that evening at Embassy Suites in Montgomery. On March 7, the Birmingham Metro Branch will host a bus trip to Selma, while a statewide civic engagement training will take place in Montgomery.
SEE ALSO: Bridge Crossing Jubilee to honor Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy in Selma
SEE ALSO: 16th Street Baptist Church: Keeping a Legacy Alive 63 Years Later
On March 8, participants will take part in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Parade, voter activation efforts, worship services at Brown Chapel AME Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, and the traditional bridge crossing at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Organizers say the weekend will emphasize continued civic participation and community engagement across Alabama.
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March 6 — Alabama NAACP Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Gala 5:30PM Embassy Suites by Hilton, 300 Tallapoosa St, Montgomery, AL 36104
March 7 — NAACP Birmingham Metro Branch Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Bus Trip 8AM–5PM Broad Street and Water Avenue in Selma Alabama
March 7 — Alabama State NAACP Statewide Civic Engagement Training 8–4:15PM Homewood Suites, 7800 EastChase Pkwy, Montgomery, AL 36117
March 8 — Alabama State NAACP in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Parade 8AM–10AM Begins at 1722 Broad St and concludes at the National Voting Rights Museum
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Statewide Bridge Crossing Jubilee Bus Trip 8AM–5PM Alabama State University, Untenese and Mobile Branch and University of Alabama, Oakwood University, Broad Street and Water Avenue, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Participation in Worship Services 10AM–2PM Brown Chapel AME Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Youth and College Civic Engagement Voter Activation 8AM–2PM Broad Street and Water Ave, Selma
March 8 — Alabama NAACP Statewide Bridge Crossing 11:15PM – Line up Alabama NAACP Tent on Waters Ave or at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma
Each player had a pivotal role on the Crimson Tide in 2025.
Alabama had a multitude of former players who performed at an elite level at the NFL combine this past weekend.
Former Alabama star quarterback Ty Simpson was among those who put his talents on full display in Indianapolis, as Simpson continues to emerge as a top quarterback prospect available in April’s draft.
Numerous Crimson Tide stars on both sides of the football were able to have an excellent showing at the combine as well, with each playmaker a vital component to the Tide’s success in 2025.
Here are three Alabama players who helped their draft stock rise at the NFL combine.
Ty Simpson, Quarterback
Simpson is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect available outside of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. The talented redshirt junior put on an absolute show at the NFL combine, as Simpson delivered multiple perfect throws and put his talents on full display throughout Saturday’s events.
The former Alabama star is a candidate to potentially shine day one in his campaign in the NFL, as Simpson’s draft stock continues to rise prior to April.
Jam Miller, Running Back
Miller is an extremely fast and athletic running back, despite struggling in the Tide’s backfield last season. The star running back recorded an impressive 4.43u 40-yard dash time, as Miller could very easily shine in the NFL next season with consistent playing time.
Miller was nothing short of elite throughout his entire performance at the combine in Indianapolis, as the former Tide running back continues to rise in a multitude of draft rankings around the football world.
Kadyn Proctor, Offensive Tackle
Proctor played a crucial role on Alabama’s offensive line last season. The star lineman reportedly slimmed down prior to the NFL combine, as Proctor displayed elite speed and athleticism throughout Sunday’s combine in Indianapolis.
Proctor is widely expected to be a mid-to-late first round selection in April, as the talented lineman’s efforts during the combine could quickly begin to work in Proctor’s favor during next month’s draft.
The 2026 NFL draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starting on April 23, as each Crimson Tide star will look to shine throughout their rookie campaign in the NFL.
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