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.
BODY OF ALABAMA INMATE WHO DIED IN PRISON RETURNED TO FAMILY WITHOUT HEART: LAWSUIT
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.
ALABAMA MURDER SUSPECT RELEASED FROM JAIL AFTER SIX YEARS
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.
NEBRASKA SENATOR INTRODUCES BILL TO MAKE NITROGEN ASPHYXIATION A LEGAL METHOD OF EXECUTION
“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.
FORMER ALABAMA PRIEST WHO LEFT COUNTRY, MARRIED TEEN OFFICIALLY DEFROCKED
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.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
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.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Alabama has expanded income eligibility for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, known as WIC, meaning more families may qualify.
WIC serves people who are pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding, as well as parents or guardians of children younger than 5. Applications are handled through local county health departments and WIC clinics.
WIC provides food benefits for each eligible family member, including a monthly cash-value benefit that can be used for fruits and vegetables. Each child receives $26 a month, pregnant and postpartum participants receive $48 a month, and breastfeeding participants receive $52 a month. Other approved foods include whole-grain bread and cereal, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, peanut butter, beans, canned fish and infant foods.
Participants can also receive nutrition education, breastfeeding support and health care referrals. Alabama’s WIC program issues benefits electronically.
| Family Size | Annual Income | Weekly Income |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $40,034 | $770 |
| 3 | $50,542 | $972 |
| 4 | $61,050 | $1,175 |
| 5 | $71,558 | $1,377 |
| 6 | $82,066 | $1,579 |
Under the 2026 federal poverty guidelines, WIC is open to households with incomes up to 185% of the federal poverty level. Participants also must meet nutrition-risk requirements. Families already receiving Medicaid, SNAP or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families generally meet the income guidelines for WIC, though others may qualify as well.
Each unborn infant counts as one in the family size. For additional household sizes, see the Alabama Department of Public Health’s WIC information page.
Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!
Copyright 2026 WSFA. All rights reserved.
Melissa Fortenberry saw a problem and sought a solution, a solution Alabama football is buying into.
Fortenberry invented HeatSense, a fitness tracker that measures athletes’ individual core body temperature with the “goal of proactively managing heat strain.” In August, Alabama will be Heat Sense’s first customer.
“They are all in,” Fortenberry told The Tuscaloosa News. “They very much want their player health to be at the top of the list.”
With a background in technology, Fortenberry came up with the idea of HeatSense as a fan, watching her three kids play youth sports in from the stands. She became sick, feeling dizzy and nauseous and coming to the conclusion that the pads and turf were hotter for athletes on the field.
Fortenberry conducted her own research and saw more reactive solutions than proactive.
“You can see heat strain forming in people and proactively cool them or keep pushing, where today, you’re flying blind,” Fortenberry said.
Jeff Allen, senior associate athletic director for health and performance and Alabama football’s head athletic trainer, has already been on the forefront of innovation for player safety, introducing the injury tent in 2015 to allow training staff and medical personnel to examine athletes privately on the sideline during games.
When Carson Tinker, a former Alabama and NFL long snapper and Fortenberry’s neighbor, heard about her idea, Allen was the first person Tinker thought of.
“Jeff was like, ‘Man, this sounds super interesting. Keep me in the loop with this,’” Tinker said. “It’s something he felt he knew that he could use. That was over a year ago now. … Now it’s all kind of come together. It’s crazy how it all kind of works out.”
“Once we got Jeff’s attention, he was really intrigued,” Fortenberry said, adding Allen “wants to be on the forefront of making the game better.”
Members of the HeatSense team attended an Alabama practice during its fourth-quarter program in March and put sensors on 10 players.
“I think the feedback they heard from players was validated in what we saw,” Fortenberry said.
Tinker views this not only as a safety tool, but an advantage overall to find a player’s peak body temperature.
“You want to be able to use the heat to your advantage. You want to be able to play your best in all conditions, but nobody knows until it’s too late and you got to get through in the cold tub because you overheated.”
Alabama is just the start for HeatSense, which has the goal of reaching three to five Division I programs this summer.
According to Weather Spark, the average temperature in Tuscaloosa eclipses 90 degrees during Alabama’s fall camp. Fortenberry now has a way for the Crimson Tide to respond.
“People, I think, are afraid of the heat, but you don’t know you can do something about it,” she said. “Now you can.”
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram @colingaytnews.
A new survey of likely Republican runoff voters in Alabama suggests the state’s four statewide runoff contests remain at different stages heading into the June 16 election, with one race showing a clear leader, another appearing highly competitive, and a third remaining largely unsettled.
According to The Alabama Poll, which surveyed 600 likely Republican runoff voters on May 28, U.S. Senate candidate Jared Hudson leads Congressman Barry Moore 48.7% to 39.2%, while 12.1% of voters remain undecided. The poll indicates Hudson has built support among voters whose preferred candidates did not advance to the runoff.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Secretary of State Wes Allen holds a narrow overall lead over Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl, 41.9% to 38.4%. However, the survey found Wahl performing slightly better among voters who report they are certain to vote and among the most frequent Republican primary voters, highlighting the potential importance of turnout in the contest. Nearly one in five voters, 19.6%, remain undecided.
The attorney general runoff shows the largest margin among the four statewide races surveyed. Katherine Robertson leads Jay Mitchell 49.1% to 31.2%, with 19.7% of respondents undecided. Poll analysts noted that Mitchell’s path to closing the gap would likely depend on winning support from voters who view him favorably but have not yet committed to a candidate.
Meanwhile, the Republican runoff for commissioner of agriculture remains the most unsettled race in the survey. Corey Hill leads Christina Woerner McInnis 33.1% to 27.3%, but nearly 40% of likely runoff voters remain undecided, leaving substantial room for movement before Election Day.
Beyond the candidate matchups, the poll found Republican voters generally optimistic about the direction of Alabama, with 63.6% saying the state is headed in the right direction. At the same time, economic concerns continue to dominate voter priorities. Nearly 79% of respondents identified an economic issue as the most important problem facing the state, with grocery prices and utility costs cited most frequently.
The survey also found President Donald Trump’s approval rating among likely Republican runoff voters at 83.2%. Researchers reported that endorsements from both Trump and U.S. Senator Katie Britt carried similar persuasive weight among respondents.
The Alabama Poll surveyed 600 likely Republican primary runoff voters using a combination of live telephone interviews and text-message surveys. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and was conducted May 28 among voters who said they are likely to participate in the June 16 Republican runoff election.
-
Maine1 minute agoOpinion: Owen McCarthy offers Maine Republicans real change
-
Maryland8 minutes agoMaryland Dem lawmaker runs taxpayer-funded nonprofit with audit struggles
-
Michigan11 minutes agoResidents in Taylor, Michigan, fight against possible rezoning
-
Massachusetts16 minutes agoMassachusetts high school under investigation after teachers diagnosed with breast cancer
-
Minnesota23 minutes agoMedical services in limbo for thousands of providers amid Minnesota fraud crisis
-
Mississippi26 minutes agoMississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for June 2, 2026
-
Missouri31 minutes ago
Missouri Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for June 2, 2026
-
Montana38 minutes agoIn eastern Montana, Brian Miller wins Democratic primary for U.S. House • Daily Montanan
