BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Plaintiffs in Audrey Dotson v. Alabama Department of Corrections had one goal during a hearing Thursday in Birmingham: to locate the heart of Brandon Dotson, a former inmate whose body was returned to his family without his heart.
After more than three hours of witness testimony from ADOC officials and others, the Dotson family came no closer to achieving that goal.
Dotson was incarcerated at the Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton, southeast of Montgomery, when he was discovered dead in November. As is the case with all deaths of incarcerated Alabamians, an autopsy is required by state law, and was performed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.
Once returned to his family, however, Dotson’s body was “severely decomposed,” and had bruising and swelling across his neck and head, according to a lawsuit filed against the state. Given the state of Dotson’s body, his mother ordered a second autopsy to be performed, after which it was discovered his heart was missing.
Where and by who had Dotson’s heart been removed, said Lauren Faraino, an attorney representing the Dotson family, was what she hoped would be revealed during Thursday’s hearing at the Hugo L. Black Courthouse.
Faraino is also representing the family of Klifton Adam Bond, who died last week in an ADOC prison after telling family he feared for his safety. Faraino last week asked a judge to halt an autopsy on Bond or let an independent third-party be present for it.
“We’re here because we need to answer a very basic question of where Mr. Dotson’s heart is,” Faraino said in her opening statement.
“We are here because there was a death in the Alabama Department of Corrections, and at some point along the line, from the time that (he) was found dead until his body was returned to his family, a heart was removed by someone.”
In their opening statement, representatives for ADOC vehemently denied having possession of or knowing the whereabouts of Dotson’s heart, as did counsel for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which also perform autopsies for deceased inmates under certain circumstances.
Karen Williams, the warden at the Ventress Correctional Facility, was the first witness called to testify. Having worked for ADOC for more than 30 years, Warren was asked to detail procedures for handling inmate deaths.
As it relates to autopsies, Warren said the only component ADOC is involved in is notifying ADFS, who then retrieve the body, as she testified was the case with Dotson. Warren also testified that Dotson’s body was intact upon leaving the possession of ADOC.
Greg Lovelace, Chief Deputy Commissioner of Corrections, was called to the stand next, and explained that once ADFS comes in possession with a body, an autopsy can be authorized by only four entities; the governor, attorney general, a district attorney or a circuit court judge.
Faraino asked Lovelace why, if only those four entities are permitted to authorize inmate autopsies, did ADOC have contracts with UAB to perform autopsy services.
“I don’t know,” Lovelace said.
Faraino also asked Lovelace if he knew where Dotson’s body went after leaving ADOC custody, or whether he knew where Dotson’s heart was, to which he said he did not.
“You’ve told us that you’re an expert in ADOC policies, but you don’t seem to know a lot of the policies,” Faraino said.
“I didn’t say I was an expert,” Lovelace responded.
“Your answer for most questions has been ‘I don’t know,’” Faraino said.
Others continued to be called to testify, including UAB Autopsy Section Head Paul Benson, who denied that the school had ever had possession or intention to have possession of Dotson’s body.
Angelo Della Manna, the director of ADFS – among the last known entities to be in possession of Dotson’s body – was also called to the stand.
Faraino presented Della Mana with a number of questions related to Dotson’s body, including when it was received, and who delivered it. Della Mana said his agency’s report on Dotson would not be complete until the end of January, and that he had not personally read the complaint regarding Dotson’s missing heart.
“You were aware that we were here today to discuss Brandon Dotson specifically?” Faraino asked.
“I was aware that there were questions about forensic sciences from a subpoena,” he responded, telling Faraino that no one had informed him he would be asked about Dotson ahead of Thursday’s hearing.
Faraino ultimately requested of the judge a continuation of the hearing into the following week, citing the witness’ answers as being insufficient.
“I would request that we continue the hearing on Monday given that none of the witnesses have been able to provide answers,” Faraino asked Judge Madeline Haikala. “Most of their answers have been ‘I don’t know.’”
That request was ultimately granted, with Haikala requesting that ADOC produce chain-of-custody documents related to the handling of Dotson’s remains, documents that she said would be permitted to be viewed in private.
Outside the courthouse, Faraino spoke to what she considered an unproductive hearing that got Dotson’s mother no closer to finding answers.
“We had a hearing today to get a simple answer to a simple question: where is Brandon Dotson’s heart, and we leave a few hours later more confused than we’ve ever been,” she told Alabama Daily News.
“Nobody can answer the questions, and frankly, I think the display of either indifference or incompetence of the state of Alabama is notable. What we see is absolute chaos, disrespect for the families, and ADOC, if they can’t keep their population alive, they should at least be able to properly handle the death.”