5 families of inmates say university took their loved ones’ organs ‘without consent’

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - Five Alabama families have filed lawsuits claiming the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Pathology removed the organs from dead inmates at the Alabama Department of Corrections without permission from their family members.

The lawsuits filed in state court last week describe similar circumstances in all five cases. Each of the inmates were sent to UAB to have autopsies performed after their deaths, according to the lawsuit, but when the bodies were released to the family, they discovered they were missing some or all their internal organs.

In most of the cases, the families said they never received their loved one’s organs despite requests, according to the lawsuits, and were told it wasn’t the university’s policy to return them after an autopsy.

Of the five inmates whose families are suing, three had been in custody at the Limestone Correctional Facility in Limestone County, Alabama, and two had been at the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Center in Marion County, Alabama.

Charles Edward Singleton

Charles Edward Singleton and Arthur Olen Stapler had been housed at the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Center, though Singleton had been at Regional One Health in Memphis for care when he died and Stapler had been at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham.

Singleton, died Nov. 21, 2021, and according to the lawsuit, the chaplain of the facility called his daughter to notify her of the death and told her the Alabama Department of Corrections could handle the burial arrangements. But she was adamant that the family would claim Singleton’s body.

The lawsuit said on Nov. 3, 2021, the UAB Department of Pathology received Singleton’s body to conduct an autopsy and removed organs and tissue without the family’s consent.

After the autopsy was performed, Singleton’s family requested his body be sent to a funeral home in Pell City, Alabama.

The family asked to view Singleton’s body before his burial, but according to the lawsuit, the funeral director told the family that Singleton’s “body was already in a noticeable state of decomposition, characterized by advanced skin slippage.”

While the family was viewing Singleton’s body, they were told there were “no organs in the body,” and none of the organs had been returned, “including but not limited to the brain. The body had been mutilated beyond the scope of a standard autopsy.”

When Singleton’s granddaughter asked the UAB Department of Pathology why Singleton’s organs had been removed, the UAB official said the organs were removed and retained after the autopsy believed to be ordered by the state corrections department and said, “Organ removal was standard practice and suggested it was legally permissible,”

The family said they never received his organs.

Arthur Olen Stapler

Stapler died Sept. 23, 2023, and UAB received Stapler’s body for an autopsy two days later.

Stapler’s family requested a second private autopsy. However, the lawsuit said that wasn’t initially possible because his “internal organs were not present in his body cavity, nor were they present along with the body.”

The doctor attempting to perform the autopsy contacted UAB to retrieve the missing organs and was able to perform a second autopsy.

The lawsuit said, “The small and large bowel with the exception of a portion of the rectum, appendix, pituitary, adrenal glands, and testicles were not received for examination.” Additionally, the “pericardial sac [was] not received for examination.”

When the family asked for the results of UAB’s autopsy, they did not receive the report until months later, the lawsuit said.

The report said, “permission for an unlimited autopsy is granted under the authority of the warden of Hamilton A&I Correctional Facility.”

The lawsuit said at no time was the family alerted to or asked whether they consented to Stapler’s organs being retained and specifically objected to the harvesting and retention of them. His organs were never returned to the family.

Jim William Kennedy

Jim William Kennedy died April 13, 2023, while in corrections custody at Limestone Correctional Facility, and his body was taken to UAB’s Department of Pathology overnight between April 13 and April 14 for an autopsy.

The lawsuit said four days after Kennedy’s death, Limestone’s chaplain contacted Kennedy’s brother to notify him of his death.

The chaplain told Kennedy’s brother that they had been trying to reach the family for a few days. “However, all members of the Kennedy Family checked their phone records and did not have any missed calls from anyone connected to the ADOC, to the Limestone Facility, or otherwise connected to Decedent Kennedy’s death,” the lawsuit said.

The family said they wanted to claim Kennedy’s body and requested it to be sent to a funeral home in Eufaula, Alabama.

The funeral home, according to the lawsuit, told the Kennedy family the body was in a severely damaged state, and “Kennedy was missing all his organs and that some of his bones, including his ribs, were broken.”

Kennedy’s daughter emailed Limestone’s warden asking for the organs back and never got a response, according to the lawsuit.

Kennedy’s sister-in-law contacted UAB explaining that she was upset that Kennedy’s body had been returned without his organs.

The lawsuit said UAB told the sister-in-law, “UAB is a teaching institution. And every teaching institution that does autopsies keeps their organs.”

The family never received the organs.

Anthony Perez Brackins

Anthony Perez Brackins died June 28, 2023, at the Limestone Correctional Facility, and the family was told of his death the same day.

According to the lawsuit, the family asked about how to claim Brackins’ body and belongings. The chaplain sent the required paperwork to the family via email.

The next day, UAB received Brackins’ body to perform an autopsy. The lawsuit said the Brackins’ family asked for his body to be sent to a funeral home in Decatur, Alabama.

On June 30, 2023, the funeral home received Brackins’ body and “that same day, the Brackins Family asked the Funeral Home whether they could have an independent autopsy done.” The funeral director told the family an independent autopsy wouldn’t be possible because “none of the organs had been returned” and the body had already been embalmed while in the possession of UAB, the lawsuit said.

The family asked why the organs had been removed and why Brackins had been embalmed.

According to the lawsuit, “An employee within the UAB Defendants’ Department of Pathology informed the Brackins Family that it was ‘standard practice’ to retain organs at the conclusion of an autopsy.’”

UAB said Brackins had a communicable disease and embalming was required in that situation, but no further information was given to the family.

“The Brackins Family told the UAB Defendants’ Department of Pathology employee that they wanted to bury Decedent Anthony with all of his organs, and the employee responded that it was ‘too late now,’” according to the lawsuit.

No organs were returned to the Brackins’ family.

Kelvin Lamar Moore

Kelvin Lamar Moore died July 21, 2023, at Limestone Correctional Facility. The chaplain told the family he died of a fentanyl overdose, the lawsuit said.

Moore’s body was taken to UAB for an autopsy and then to a funeral home in Mobile, Alabama, afterward. The funeral home said all of Moore’s internal organs had been removed.

UAB told Moore’s family it was the university’s policy not to return organs to families after an autopsy, the lawsuit said.

The Moore family was “was angry, hurt, and devastated by the fact that the UAB Defendants had removed Kelvin’s organs without family consent.”

The lawsuit said when they asked UAB for the organs back, they received them in a sealed red bag with a container inside that they were told contained Moore’s organs.

Moore’s family, according to the lawsuit, took the organs back to the funeral home and asked for the bag to be placed in Moore’s casket with his body to be buried with him.

Brandon Dotson

A sixth case was filed in December 2023 on behalf of Brandon Dotson after his family alleged his body was returned to them without a heart. The Dotson case has since been dismissed.

In response to the lawsuits, the university said in part, “We are in compliance with laws governing autopsies; our protocols require documented consent under the law, which includes consent for disposition of organs removed within the clinical standard necessary to determine a cause of death. UAB only conducts autopsies for incarcerated individuals after the ADOC certifies that the autopsy has been properly authorized by an appropriate legal representative of the deceased. A panel of medical ethicists reviewed and endorsed our protocols regarding autopsies conducted for incarcerated persons. Due to pending litigation and laws related to the privacy of medical records, we cannot comment on any specific autopsy.”

UAB also said it “has one of the highest-ranked pathology programs in the country, is accredited by the College of American Pathologists and is staffed by credentialed physicians who are certified by the American Board of Pathology.”

Under Alabama Senate Bill 22 it states, “Medical Examiners, deceased individuals, next of kin to be notified when organs retained by medical examiner prohibited from retaining organs for use other than autopsy.”

WBRC has reached out to attorneys for comment regarding these lawsuits.