Kenneth James, 36, died in the summer of 2022 inside Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County after being found unresponsive in his cell and later pronounced dead. He was serving a life sentence for a Jefferson County murder conviction. The Jefferson County Coroner’s office initially reported no signs of foul play or trauma.

James’s mother, Capri James, says he had been assaulted months earlier by a group of inmates who believed he had flirted with a correctional officer involved with one of them. After that attack he was placed in solitary; his mother says he pleaded to be removed and complained of ongoing head trauma and headaches. Capri James also alleges other inmates poisoned him with fentanyl-laced drugs.

The Alabama Department of Corrections says an investigation is ongoing. No arrests or suspects have been publicly announced. If anyone had contact with Kenneth at Donaldson or observed anything relevant in the summer of 2022, what information can be shared with investigators?