Finding 2
Deaths from Violence
Extreme overcrowding, understaffing and the flow of illegal drugs all drive unprecedented violence in Alabama prisons.
Our investigation tracked 79 homicides in the prisons between 2019 and 2024, including stabbings, beatings, and strangulations.
In 2019, a three-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found that Alabama has the highest prison murder rate in the nation.
The DOJ concluded that incarcerated people in Alabama are enduring torture, assaults and rapes “at all hours of the day and night.”
Since then, violent deaths in Alabama prisons have surged. Annual homicides are now more than seven times higher than a decade ago.
SOURCE: ADOC Monthly Statistical reports
Under the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, prison staff are responsible for keeping incarcerated people safe from harm.
But in Alabama, it’s often reported that prison staff encourage men to carry knives for self-protection.
Confiscated weapons at St. Clair Correctional Facility
The DOJ investigation found that weapons are pervasive in Alabama prisons.
Prisoners reported, “‘everyone’ has knives and prisoners need a weapon to stay alive.”
One prisoner stated that “Bibb is a place where you have to fight the day you arrive or you’ll be a bitch, so you get a knife.”
Another prisoner told investigators that when he arrived, officers warned him that he would “need a knife for protection.”
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Alabama for refusing to correct violations of the Eighth Amendment in its prisons, including the failure to protect incarcerated people from violence and sexual abuse.
Five years later, homicide rates in Alabama prisons remain extraordinarily high. Alabama continues to resist reform in court, spending over $20 million to date fighting the DOJ lawsuit.
Source: Autopsy Report, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (2019)
Elvin Burnseed
1966–2019
Homicide by strangulation
In October of 2019, Elvin Burnseed, a 53-year old man from Dothan, Alabama, was found dead on the floor of his cell block in Donaldson prison. Elvin had been strangled, but no one witnessed the murder.
In October of 2019, Elvin Burnseed, a 53-year old man from Dothan, Alabama, was found dead on the floor of his cell block in Donaldson prison. Elvin had been strangled, but no one witnessed the murder.
During his autopsy, the pathologist found a note folded up in the back pocket of his white prison pants.
Source: Autopsy Report, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (2019)
He had written, “In fear of my life. Big Red C-37 got a hit on me.”
The note appeared to be a call for help to the prison administration—Elvin knew someone was going to try to kill him.
Source: Autopsy Report, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (2019)
A prison spokesperson said suspects were developed, but the District Attorney declined to prosecute anyone for the crime due to “insufficient evidence”.
