Alabama
Family claims deceased Alabama inmate's missing heart still unaccounted for after 50 days
The Alabama Department of Corrections and staff members at Ventress Correctional Facility have not disclosed the whereabouts of a deceased inmate’s missing heart for 50 days, according to court filings on behalf of his family, who are trying to retrieve the organ before it “deteriorates” entirely.
After hearing that Brandon Clay Dotson had died in the Alabama prison on Nov. 21, his sister Audrey Marie Dotson and mother Audrey South said they spent five days trying to claim his body.
When he was finally returned to his family, they claim, they saw “bruising on the back of [his] neck and excessive swelling across his head.”
Perturbed and unsure of precisely how he died, court documents show, the family hired their own pathologist to conduct an autopsy. The 43-year-old inmate’s heart was missing from his chest cavity, the family claims in their lawsuit.
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Brandon Dotson, 43, was found dead in his cell on Nov. 21. His family did not receive his body for another five days, and were unable to hold an open casket funeral due to “severe decomposition.” The man’s heart was allegedly missing from his chest cavity. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama)
His relatives said in their lawsuit that they are still unclear about how he died, and never received a death certificate.
Dotson had served 19 years of his 99-year sentence in prison for a burglary conviction and a parole violation at Barbour County’s Ventress Correctional Facility.
In the days before his death, Dotson allegedly told prison staff that another inmate was threatening him with violence. In response, prison staff allegedly moved Dotson from “segregated housing” into general population, where he could access drugs and be attacked easily by those seeking to harm and exploit him in the “grossly understaffed and severely overcrowded” Ventress Correctional Facility, according to the lawsuit.
Although he was not sentenced to life, the initial complaint shows, the alleged misconduct of prison staff was “tantamount to a death sentence.”
According to court filings lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama last week, defendants named in the lawsuit “glaringly were not able to answer” the whereabouts of Dotson’s heart in a phone conference on Dec. 7.
The suit names Alabama Department of Corrections brass, the warden of the Ventress Correctional Facility, the director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and unnamed prison employees as defendants.
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Dotson had served 19 years of a 99-year sentence for burglary and a parole violation at Ventress Correctional Facility, pictured. (Alabama Department of Corrections)
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine is also named as a defendant, because the school is a “possible intended recipient of Mr. Dotson’s heart.”
The lawsuit cites an alleged recent history of the Alabama DOC providing “human organs and tissues” to medical students for “laboratory exercises.”
In an emailed statement in October, University of Alabama at Birmingham media specialist Brianna Hoge told Fox News Digital that the school has reviewed its records, “which show that UAB did not perform this autopsy and has not been involved in this matter,” and subsequently reached out to the family’s attorney.
Regardless, the school is still named in more recent court filings. Among 16 documents Dotson’s family are seeking from the defendants include any contracts between the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences – or any entity connected with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, including their department of pathology.
Dotson’s family successfully petitioned for an expedited discovery period, which the court imposed on all parties on Dec. 29, court documents show.
“Plaintiffs contend that there are few matters that present more of an ‘impelling urgency’ or ‘hazard of loss’ requiring swift action than in the case of a missing organ. Organs and tissues that are not adequately preserved deteriorate,” reads a Jan. 3 court filing.
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“If Brandon Dotson’s heart has not been illegally destroyed, it is of critical importance to confirm that it is being stored properly. Furthermore, the family has spent nearly fifty agonizing days wondering where the heart of their loved one currently is,” the suit reads. “Courts in nearly all districts have recognized the heightened sensitivity of proper handling of human remains. This case could not be a clearer example of mishandling remains of a deceased: the evidence available to Plaintiffs indicates that Defendants removed, potentially misplaced and improperly destroyed a human heart, and now are attempting to hide the details of such activity from the family.”
The Dotson family is now demanding various documents, including one that details the chain of command of their relatives’ body from his cell at Ventress to Abanks Medical Center, where they first saw his corpse; the document in which the prison’s warden authorized his autopsy; Dotson’s death certificate; Dotson’s autopsy report, regardless of whether it was completed; video footage from around or near Dotson’s cell at Ventress; any documentation of life-saving measures taken when Dotson was found dead; and documentation of any investigation regarding his death that was carried out.
The family’s attorney, Lauren Faraino, also asked for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences’ policies regarding the removal and retention of human organs post-autopsy, a form from the agency given to family members of non-incarcerated prospective autopsy subjects and one used for incarcerated individual’s autopsies.
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The family also asked for a list of all organs that have been removed or retained from inmates who died in the Alabama prison system since 2013, a document that the defendants have allegedly conceded exists.
“This document is critical to fulfill the third measure sought in the motion for TRO: freezing the practice of improperly and potentially illegally retaining organs from autopsies without providing notice or seeking consent from the family members of the deceased,” the document reads.
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In September 2018, the family’s attorney contends, UAB students raised concerns about a “disproportionate amount of specimens obtained from individuals incarcerated at their time of death.” Any minutes from this meeting are also requested.
Dotson’s family members did not comment at press time in fear of jeopardizing the ongoing legal process, and Faraino was unavailable for comment.
An attorney representing the University of Alabama at Birmingham declined to comment on the case.
The No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide play against the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies in an SEC basketball game tonight. The matchup will begin at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
The Crimson Tide enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won seven consecutive games. In their most recent game, the Crimson Tide defeated South Carolina 88-68.
During the victory, Alabama’s star guard Mark Sears scored 22 points and shot 7-12 from the field. He also shot 4-6 from beyond the arc, so he will try to perform similarly this evening.
The Aggies also enter this matchup with a 13-2 record, and they have won nine games in a row. The team has a 4-0 record against ranked opponents.
In their most recent game, the Aggies defeated Oklahoma 80-78. During the victory, Zhuric Phelps led the Texas A&M offense. He scored 34 points and shot 6-10 from three-point range, so he will try to continue his great play tonight.
Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. Alternatively, Sling offers a first-month discount to new users.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Some social media users are bracing for a possible ban on the popular social media app TikTok.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ban the social media platform by Jan. 19 if the Chinese-owned company does not sell the platform due to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.
It’s a dilemma between free speech and national security.
“Many of the content creators on TikTok are Americans, so they are protected under the First Amendment, and it was also argued that TikTok could be seen as a public forum, and Americans have freedom of speech in a public forum,” Troy University Assistant Professor of journalism and communications Dr. Stefanie East said.
Montgomery-raised content creator Funmi Ford says this ban could affect many Americans financially, not only content creators, but also small business owners.
“There are entrepreneurs that have used TikTok not only to get income but to get new clients,” Ford said. “There’s so many people that use this app to feed their families that I think it’s going to be really hard for them.”
TikTok has provided Ford with a way to share her culture from Accra Ghana and interact with other cultures. She fears without this social media platform, it may be more difficult to make those global connections.
“I feel like TikTok is one of the few places, because it’s video and it’s short form, you got to digest a lot of information, whether good or bad, that either widened your horizon, made you think differently, made you want to travel,” said Ford. “So with it possibly being banned, which we hope it’s not, it’s going to close a window to somebody else’s life, a window to another part of the world that you would not see otherwise.”
TikTok, as well as some of its users, have sued to block the U.S. ban contending that it violates First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court is now faced with the decision between those claims and Congress’ concern the Chinese government may have influence over the social media platform.
President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief at the Supreme Court asking justices to temporarily block the law so he can “pursue a political resolution” once he takes office.
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The SEC has taken the men’s college basketball world by storm this season. When this week began, the SEC had nine teams in The Associated Press top 25, including six in the top 10.
Auburn and Alabama are in the top 10 and making their marks as favorites to win the national championship. Before they cut down the nets in the Final Four, they will try to win a conference championship.
The SEC regular season conference winner odds for Auburn and Alabama show a pair of teams expected to be there at the end. That’s what we are examining today.
Note: Odds are based on the best value our experts find as of publication; check lines closer to game time to ensure you get the best odds.
SEC regular season conference winner odds
These are the odds for each team to win the SEC regular season men’s basketball conference title from BetMGM Sportsbook:
| Team | BetMGM odds to win SEC regular season |
|---|---|
| Auburn | -115 |
| Alabama | +450 |
| Tennessee | +500 |
| Florida | +800 |
| Kentucky | +1800 |
| Mississippi State | +2000 |
| Texas A&M | +2000 |
| Ole Miss | +5000 |
| Arkansas | 100-to-1 |
| Georgia | 125-to-1 |
| Oklahoma | 125-to-1 |
| Texas | 125-to-1 |
| Missouri | 200-to-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 200-to-1 |
| LSU | 250-to-1 |
| South Carolina | 250-to-1 |
The top five teams in this betting odds market rank in the top eight in this week’s AP poll. The next two are not far behind at Nos. 10 and 14. After that, the odds drop significantly, but even Ole Miss is a top-25 team.
Don’t nitpick about how the odds and rankings compare. Tennessee entered this week undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation but lost to Florida on the road by 30 points. With so much parity in college basketball, the regular season is more of a survival challenge than an expectation to win every game.
Auburn and Alabama were among the favorites to win the regular season title when the season began and both teams have played well thus far. They’ll be favorites if they win a large majority of their games and beat a couple of fellow contenders along the way.
Auburn SEC championship odds
| Sportsbook | SEC championship odds |
|---|---|
| BetMGM | -115 |
| FanDuel | -130 |
| DraftKings | -105 |
No. 2-ranked Auburn (14-1) has lit the court on fire throughout its 14-1 start, including marquee wins over Houston, North Carolina, Iowa State and Purdue. The Tigers’ only loss came on the road against Duke.
The biggest spark has been forward Johni Broome, who averages 18.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks. His performance has catapulted him to the top of the Wooden Award odds listed by DraftKings Sportsbook. Broome has odds of -280 while Duke’s Cooper Flagg is at +230. No other player has odds better than 16-to-1.
Broome is the MVP, but five other Auburn players average at least 10 points per game. That’s an incredible feat in this day of college basketball.
The Tigers rank fourth in the nation in points per game with 87.9. They rank first in blocks per game with 6.9 and 26th in shooting percentage allowed at 39.2%
Auburn hits the road to play South Carolina on Saturday before returning home to face No. 14 Mississippi State on Tuesday. A home game against Tennessee looms Jan. 25.
Alabama SEC championship odds
| Sportsbook | SEC Championship odds |
|---|---|
| BetMGM | +450 |
| FanDuel | +380 |
| DraftKings | +550 |
No. 5 Alabama (13-2) has had an incredible season with the only blemishes being losses to Oregon and Purdue. The Crimson Tide have big wins over Illinois, Houston, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
The whole SEC schedule will be tough, but the next three games especially stand out for Alabama. The Tide play Texas A&M on the road, Ole Miss at home and Kentucky on the road.
Like Auburn, Alabama has balanced scoring at the top. Five players average double figures, led by Mark Sears’ 18.3 points. Fellow returner Grant Nelson has been pivotal, too. He averages 13.1 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds.
If Alabama is going to win the regular season title, it will have to earn it over the final handful of games. The Tide’s final five games are against Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.
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