The families of two Alabama prison inmates who died in the past few weeks are demanding answers from state authorities after they received their loved ones’ bodies bizarrely missing several of their major internal organs.
Both these cases raise questions about the treatment and mismanagement of the bodies of 74-year-old Charles Singleton and 43-year-old Brandon Dotson, who were inmates in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections.
Singleton died more than two years ago at a hospital that typically provides care for older inmates. Dotson was found dead two months ago in his cell at Ventress Correctional Facility.
In Singleton’s case, the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s Department of Pathology conducted his autopsy before returning his remains, WPDE reported. Court documents note that his family members had his body sent to a funeral home where the funeral director told them it “would be difficult to prepare his body for viewing” since it was already in a “noticeable state of decomposition” and was suffering from “advanced skin slippage.”
The family was also informed that Singleton’s body was missing all of his organs, including his brain. The funeral director told the family it’s common practice during an autopsy to remove internal organs and place them in bags but that they should be placed back inside the body once the process is complete.
Singleton’s family contacted the university about the organs’ whereabouts but reportedly received little to no information on the matter.
UAB released this statement in response to the lawsuit Singleton’s family filed:
“We do not comment on pending litigation. We only conduct autopsies with consent or authorization and follow standard procedures equitably for anyone consented to or authorized for an autopsy. The autopsy practice is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and staffed by credentialed physicians who are certified by the American…
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