The brother of an inmate who died of a fentanyl overdose recovered his organs in a plastic bag after they were “removed from his body without his permission,” the convict’s family claims.
Simone Moore collected her brother Kalvin’s bagged organs from the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham after his death in July 2023 at Limestone Correctional Center.
An autopsy was then performed on Kalvin, 42, before he was sent to a funeral home in Mobile, Alabama, where staff told the family that his organs were not inside his body.
When Simone arrived at the funeral home, he said he “felt the weight of the world” on him and collapsed. WBMA reported.
‘Posthumously they stole his organs without our permission. They didn’t ask,” Simone Moore said.
This is the most recent case of an inmate’s organ loss in state prison. Two other families have detailed similar allegations and filed lawsuits. v. State Department of Corrections.
Simone Moore is seen holding a red plastic bag filled with her brother Kelvin’s organs after he died from a fentanyl overdose inside an Alabama prison in July 2023.
Kalvin was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and one count of robbery, kidnapping and assault in 1999. He had been sentenced to 99 years in prison.
The Moores have said they are planning their own lawsuit against the department and believe Kelvin’s remains will need to be exhumed.
‘This must stop. We don’t want this to happen to another family,” Simone Moore said.
DailyMail.com contacted the Alabama Department of Corrections, who said they “do not authorize or perform autopsies.”
“Once an inmate dies, the body is transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences or UAB for an autopsy, depending on several factors, including, but not limited to, the region and whether the death is unlawful, suspicious or unnatural.” .
UAB Hospital told DailyMail.com that autopsies are only performed with “consent or authorization,” which includes “authorization for final disposition of organs and tissues.”
“Some samples may be retained beyond release of the body to determine the cause of death,” the hospital said.
Kalvin was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and one count of robbery, kidnapping and assault in 1999. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
On the day of his death, his mother, Agolia, received a call from the prison’s Chaplin just after getting off the phone with her son. Pictured: Limestone Correctional Facility
Kalvin was the tenth child of his mother and father and had six brothers and three sisters. In the photo: Kelvin with his mother Agolia.
On the day of his death, his mother, Agolia, received a call from the prison’s Chaplin just after getting off the phone with her son.
Simone said the person on the other end of the phone said: ‘Do you have anyone called Kelvin? He died,” before his mother fell to the ground in disbelief.
His mother reported that her youngest son struggled with drug addiction and when he was sentenced, the judge ordered the center to treat him for it.
“They sent him straight to prison,” the mother said.
Limestone was not the only Alabama prison Kelvin spent time in, as he was also held at the William C. Holman Correctional Center.
He added that his son stayed busy during his sentence and took classes, mentored others and received certificates for good behavior.
Most of the guards liked him. They said, ‘Kelvin’s a good guy,’” Agolia said. Andscape.
Kalvin was the tenth child of his mother and father and had six brothers and three sisters.
‘He was the apple of our eye. He wasn’t just the youngest. He was our baby,” Simone said.
In a similar case, the family of an inmate who was being held at the Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County filed a lawsuit against the department. after Brandon Dotson’s body was returned to them without his heart.
Brandon Dotson, 43, died Nov. 16, 2023, at the Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County. His body was returned to his family without his heart.
His family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alabama Department of Corrections correctional officials’ failure to safeguard, neglect his medical needs and mishandle his remains.
The inmate was imprisoned for 19 years as part of a 99-year sentence for robbery and parole in Lawrence County.
His apparent sudden death occurred on November 16, 2023, the same day he was to be considered for parole.
According to a federal lawsuit, Dotson’s body was missing a heart and his body was so decomposed that the family was unable to hold an open-casket funeral.
The disturbing discovery was first noted by an independent pathologist the family hired in Birmingham to determine the cause of death.
The pathologist noted that “the heart was missing from the thoracic cavity of Mr. Dotson’s body,” making it difficult to determine how he died.
Costume He alleged wrongful death, citing the fact that prison officials failed to safeguard Dotson, 43, neglected his medical needs and mishandled his remains.
“The Alabama Department of Corrections, or an agent responsible for performing the autopsy or transporting the body to his family, inexplicably and without the required permission of Mr. Dotson’s next of kin, removed and retained Mr. Dotson’s heart,” is stated in the complaint. state.
The lawsuit, filed by Dotson’s daughter, Audrey Marie Dotson, and her mother, Audrey South, also claims that Dotson’s body was not released to the family until five days after his death. An unspecified amount of money was also requested in the lawsuit.
The family also revealed that when they looked at Dotson’s body they saw “bruises on the back of his neck and excessive swelling on his head.”
‘The heart is a vital organ that would provide essential evidence to assess the cause of death. Without the heart, the plaintiff cannot obtain an accurate and complete determination of the circumstances surrounding the decedent’s death.’
The Dotson family’s attorney, Lauren Faraino, called it “very grotesque, disrespectful and unacceptable” to remove a vital organ from someone “without the family knowing.”
Charles Edward Singleton, 74, died on November 2, 2021 at the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Centre. He was returned to his family without any organs in his body.
According to court documents, Singleton’s loved ones were told that the deceased’s organs are typically placed in a bag while the autopsy is being performed and returned to the body afterward.
Although Singleton died in custody in 2021, his family decided to come forward after learning of a similar story from Dotson.
The family believes the students may have given the heart to the University of Alabama Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine for medical research purposes.
Another Alabama inmate, Charles Edward Singleton, 74, was missing organs when his remains were released to a funeral home after his death on Nov. 2, 2021, at the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Center.
Singleton’s family were informed that their deceased relative had no organs in his body after the funeral director told them that “it would be difficult to prepare his body for viewing” as it was in a “remarkable state of decomposition” and “advanced skin slip.” ‘ according WBMA.
According to court documents, Singleton’s loved ones were told that the deceased’s organs are usually placed in a bag while the autopsy is being performed and then returned to the body.
“We do not comment on pending litigation,” the University of Alabama told WBMA.
Although Singleton died in custody in 2021, his family decided to come forward after learning of a similar story from Dotson.
It is unclear why Singleton was imprisoned and how much time he spent behind bars.
In 2022, 260 inmates died in Alabama prison custody, according to the lawsuit. The figure is the highest in the department’s history and the death rate in 2023 was similar.
A week before the lawsuit was filed, Alabama officials released statistics showing that assaults in state prisons increased by more than 41 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Of the 2,073 attacks, 1,578 were between inmates and 495 of them were reported as attacks by inmates on prison staff.
In September alone there were 137 attacks among inmates and 42 attacks on prison staff.