A prison death and rumors of wrongdoing, but no answers for a grieving widow

By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher

Stephanie Lewis on Thursday was fighting to learn more about how her husband died at Childersburg Work Release facility in Alpine on Wednesday. No one would tell her where his body was. And there were rumors that his death was the result of excessive force by officers.

Rodrequis Woods, 42, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, an officer told her by phone, but the circumstances around his death were shrouded in secrecy a day later. As of Thursday afternoon his grieving widow still did not know basic information about her husband’s death. 

Reached by phone on Thursday, an Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC)employee declined to tell Mrs. Lewis where his body was located and said it was unclear to the employee whether he’d receive a full autopsy or just a toxicology screening, Mrs. Lewis told Appleseed. 

Stephanie Lewis and her husband, Rodrequis Woods, who died in prison at age 42

Mrs. Lewis, who has been active in criminal justice reform efforts and who has attended Appleseed events as recently as November, said she first learned of her husband’s death in a call around 8pm on Wednesday from a woman whom she didn’t know. An Alabama Department of Corrections officer later called to confirm the death, and alleged that drugs were involved upon Woods returning from his job at the Sylacauga Housing Authority. 

Mrs. Lewis said the officer told her, “I think he put something in his mouth and he started having a seizure” but she added that her husband had never abused drugs, but had in fact been experiencing some unknown medical issues in recent months. She also learned from a social media post of allegations that officers at the work release center may have had a role in his death, an allegation that hasn’t been confirmed. Since then, Mrs. Lewis has been frantically reaching out to advocates, journalists, and other families for the information she desperately needs.

Appleseed reached out to ADOC with questions on Mr. Woods’s death, but as of Thursday afternoon hadn’t received a response. Appleseed is also seeking to speak to others at the facility. 

ADOC no longer provides full autopsies for all who die in prison, following UAB Hospital’s April 22, 2024, termination of its longstanding agreement with ADOC to conduct autopsies and toxicology screens on suspected natural and overdose deaths. 

The agreement had ADOC paying $2,200 per autopsy and $100 per toxicology test, according to court documents in a lawsuit. That revenue may not have outweighed the fallout from a lawsuit in which families discovered their incarcerated loved ones’ bodies had been returned missing internal organs. Since UAB terminated its contract, in-custody deaths from natural causes or suspected overdoses are no longer receiving state-provided full autopsies, leaving many families unsure how their loved ones died.

“All inmate deaths are investigated by the ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division. However, under existing state law, post-mortem examinations or autopsies are only required for deaths resulting from unlawful, suspicious, or unnatural causes (Ala. Code Section 36-18-2). In those cases, the deceased is transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy,” ADOC wrote in a statement to Appleseed in May 2024, when Appleseed first reported UAB’s contract termination.

“Deaths not covered under Ala. Code Section 36-18-2 receives a toxicology screen prior to release to the inmate’s family. Although the department previously contracted with UAB Hospital to conduct autopsies on suspected overdose or natural deaths, UAB terminated its long-standing agreement effective April 22, 2024. Since that time, the department has made numerous inquiries but has been unable to find another vendor to provide autopsies for ADOC inmates who died of natural causes or suspected overdoses,” the statement continued. 

Mr. Woods has also recently exhibited symptoms of an unknown medical issue, and two months before he died had called his wife to tell her that he’d gotten dizzy and fainted. He was checked out by an ADOC nurse and his vital signs were good, she said. They were never able to determine what caused that medical incident. “I tried not to worry about it, but I was concerned,” Mrs. Lewis said of the fainting incident. Mr. Woods did have a diagnosis of sickle cell disease.

The couple had been together for 18 years and married for the last eight. Mrs. Lewis’s 14-year-old son, whom she adopted as an infant, has only ever known Mr. Woods as his father. The two were very close, she said. Mrs. Lewis and her son visited with Mr. Woods just last Sunday. The couple talked by phone every day. 

Stephanie Lewis and Rodrequis Woods had been married 8 years. He died after returning to prison from his work release job.

“As long as he doesn’t see me break down, he’s okay,” Mrs. Lewis said of her son, who asked to stay home from school on Thursday to be with her. “And I said no, because if you’re at home, we’re just gonna sit here and cry together.” 

Mrs. Lewis described her husband as a devoted football fan, who played football while in college at the University of West Alabama, and at Miles College  Mr. Woods began his life with the possibility of parole sentence in 2004. His next possible parole hearing date was scheduled for 2027, and he’d already received recommendations for release from an outside law enforcement officer and an ADOC officer, she said. 

A reduction of transparency surrounding in-custody deaths in Alabama comes as state prisons are seeing more deaths than ever. Alabama prisons in 2023 saw record high deaths for a second straight year, with 327 lives lost. More people died in Alabama prisons per capita than in any state in the nation in 2024, and at a rate that was nearly double those of the next highest state.

ADOC has yet to honor Appleseed’s request sent in December for the names and dates of death for those who died in Alabama prisons in 2025.