The body of a man who died in an Alabama prison in April was reportedly released to his family decomposing and without a heart.
According to the Moulton Advertiser, Brandon Dotson was considered for parole release the same day he died at Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County on November 16. A federal lawsuit alleged that the warden contacted Dotson’s brother that night, and the family immediately made arrangements to retrieve his body.
Officials performed an autopsy on Dotson, and they gave the body to Dr. Boris Datnow — a pathologist hired by Dotson’s mother. The Moulton Advertiser reported that Dotson’s body was turned over to Dr. Datnow five days after his death.
Dr. Datnow noted that Dotson’s heart was missing from his chest cavity. Dotson’s estate alleged that officials did not have permission to remove Dotson’s heart, and his cause of death remains a mystery.
Datson’s brother told the Alabama Political Reporter that Dr. Datnow was unable to complete the autopsy because of the missing heart.
The Alabama Department of Corrections, which is being sued by Dotson’s estate, told WABM that he was serving a 99-year sentence for third-degree burglary. Dotson possibly died before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole denied him parole on November 16, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.
Dotson reportedly had a closed-casket funeral because his body had severely decomposed by the time it was given to his family.
The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, which is also listed as a defendant, denied having Dotson’s heart.
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[Featured image: Brandon Dotson/Facebook]
