Cedric Watts

On a Sunday morning inside the walls of Donaldson Correctional Facility, a maximum-security state prison in Bessemer, Alabama, a violent altercation ended a man’s life. Cedric Watts, a 33-year-old Black man, was stabbed on October 15, 2023. The attack proved fatal, and his death was officially classified as a homicide, adding another name to the list of those killed while in the custody of Alabama’s prison system.

At the time of his death, Cedric Earl Watts Jr. was serving a sentence for manslaughter. In December 2020, he had been arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend, 30-year-old Tiffany Osborne, a mother from Midfield. Osborne’s body had been found wrapped in a blanket in an industrial area of Bessemer in April of that year. In December 2023, Watts entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter in connection with her death. A judge sentenced him to serve 18 years in a state prison, with credit for time already served. His incarceration brought him to Donaldson, a facility known for its high concentration of violent offenders and a history of dangerous conditions.

The specific circumstances of the stabbing that ended Cedric Watts's life have not been made public by officials. Details regarding what led to the assault, the exact location of the attack within the sprawling prison complex, and whether any weapons were recovered have not been released. The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) immediately launched a homicide investigation, handled by its Law Enforcement Services Division. However, in the months following the incident, the agency has not publicly named any suspects, persons of interest, or announced any arrests in connection with the killing.

The investigation into Watts's death continues, but it does so within a system that has faced intense scrutiny for its high rates of violence, death, and lack of transparency. His killing was one of at least a dozen homicides within Alabama's state prisons in 2023. Advocacy groups have pointed to a pattern of escalating violence, understaffing, and dangerous conditions across the state's correctional facilities for years. According to federal data, Alabama’s prisons have a homicide rate that is multiples of the national average.

The Alabama Department of Corrections has been criticized for a lack of transparency regarding deaths in its custody, having previously stopped publishing detailed information on the matter. This has left families and the public with limited information about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of incarcerated individuals like Cedric Watts. Without official updates, suspects, or arrests, the full story of what happened on that Sunday morning inside Donaldson Correctional Facility remains unknown.

As of late 2023, the case into the homicide of Cedric Watts is still considered open and is pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation by the Alabama Department of Corrections. No information regarding any potential rewards for information or specific tip lines for this case has been made public. The questions surrounding his final moments remain unanswered, and his death is a stark reminder of the persistent and deadly violence occurring within the state's prison system.