Former guard, two inmates face murder charges in Alabama prison death
WETUMPKA – A former Alabama Department of Corrections officer and two inmates are facing murder charges in the Wednesday death of an inmate at Elmore Correctional Facility.
Correctional Sgt. Demarcus Sanders and inmates Fredrick Gooden and Stefranio Hampton have been charged with murder, said Kelly Betts, a spokeswoman for the prisons system. Sanders, who has resigned his position with ADOC, is being held at the Elmore County Jail without bond. The inmates remain in ADOC custody.
The victim, Rubyn James Murray, was involved in an incident outside his dorm with correctional officers resulting in a physical altercation with one of the officers, said Betts. Murray was taken to the back gate holding area to be transported to the Staton Health Care Unit for medical assessment and treatment.
Before the transport could occur and in violation of ADOC policy, two other inmates allegedly gained access to the holding area, an ADOC press release said. Murray was found unresponsive and was transported to the health care facility at Staton and then to an area hospital for emergency treatment. Medical staff was unable to resuscitate Murray and he was pronounced dead by the attending physician.
The cause of Murray’s death in pending.
More charges and personnel actions are pending, ADOC said. Murray, 38, was serving a 20-year sentence for robbery out of Montgomery County. Gooden, 60, is serving a 30-year sentence for theft of property out of Jefferson County. Hampton, 35, is serving a life sentence for robbery out of Montgomery County.
The ADOC said in a statement that it has reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Mobile Field Office and the Elmore County District Attorney’s Office about the incident.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Former guard, two inmates face murder charges in Alabama prison death
