Family seeks answers after 'passionate' 22-year-old is killed in Alabama prison
Daniel Williams, 22, planned to be released from prison this month. Instead, he was brutally beaten and eventually killed, his family said.
Williams died Nov. 9 after what the prison called a "possible inmate-on-inmate assault."
His stepmother Taylor Bostic said Williams loved being a father and had two children. When he was arrested for theft of property, he had fallen on hard times and turned to drug use.
Williams was full of vigor, Bostic said. “He was just passionate about everything," she said. "If he did it, he loved it."
Williams made friends easily and liked to keep moving.
“He was always moving, busy body. Always happy and hyper. Ready to talk. Never met a stranger," Bostic said, describing Williams.
Williams' family has spoken out about the tragedy of his death in an effort to keep others from dying this way.
The warden and other prison staff have not been forthcoming with information, they said.
“We can’t even get answers after they took his life or allowed his life to be taken," Bostic said.
The Alabama Department of Corrections Law Enforcement Services Division is investigating Williams' death.
Family friends created a GoFundMe to raise money for Williams' funeral. Since the media attention surrounding Williams' death, the GoFundMe has raised nearly $15,000.
"His family learned from other men at Staton that their son had been assaulted in a dormitory, tied up, 'rented out' and likely sexually abused for two to three days before he was removed from the dorm and given medical treatment," according to the Equal Justice Initiative.
The warden first told the family that Williams had overdosed and was brain dead. When the family saw Williams in the hospital, they noted bruises consistent with being beaten and bound, Bostic said.
Williams, who was serving a 12-month sentence, was found unresponsive in his dorm after the attack that was reported at Staton Correctional Facility, according to an email from the Alabama Department of Corrections. He was taken to the health care unit, where medical staff treated and monitored his condition before deciding to transfer him to an area hospital.
Williams remained at the hospital until his family decided to remove him from life support. He was transported to Kilby Correctional Facility for long-term care, where he died Thursday.
"Medical staff attempted to revive him, but they were unable to resuscitate him, and he was pronounced deceased by the attending physician," the Alabama Department of Corrections said in a statement.
More: The Realities of Alabama Prisons Alabama prisoners endure 'horrific' conditions in solitary confinement
Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Family seeks answers after 22-year-old is killed in Alabama prison
