By Eddie Burkhalter, Appleseed Researcher
Daniel Terry Williams, 22, was likely smothered to death on November 9, 2022 inside Staton Correctional Facility.
Daniel Terry Williams, 22, was likely smothered to death a year ago on Saturday, according to the state’s chief medical examiner, and there was evidence on his body that corroborate what witnesses have said was his kidnapping and torture over a period of several days inside Staton Correctional Facility. He died the day he was set to be released from prison.
Despite witnesses who saw Mr. Williams being held against his will in a secure prison staffed with officers, and despite clear medical evidence pointing to homicide and a suspect identified, that suspect has not been charged in Mr. Williams’s death. To date, no one has been criminally charged in connection with his death.
In a prison system where frequent, violent deaths are common, the homicide of Mr. Williams stood out for a number of reasons: he was serving a short sentence for a minor crime, he was scheduled for release within days, his torture over a prolonged period went undetected for days, and his assailant had a long record of institutional violence that went unaddressed.
And now, it appears, no one will be held accountable for this young man’s suffering and death.
“Insufficient probable cause to issue an indictment”
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) Law Enforcement Services Division completed its investigation and forwarded those findings in July to the Elmore County District Attorney’s Office for presentation of a criminal case to the grand jury, an ADOC spokeswoman told Appleseed.
“The case involving the death of Daniel Williams was investigated by the I&I Division of DOC,” wrote 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney CJ Robinson in a response to Appleseed last week. He referred to ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division as I&I, which is the abbreviation of the division’s former name, the Investigations and Intelligence Division.
“The completed casefile was submitted to the 19th Judicial Circuit DA’s Office several weeks ago and presented to the first available Grand Jury in Elmore County (October 2024). After hearing the details of the investigation, the grand jury determined there was insufficient probable cause to issue an indictment,” Mr. Robinson said.
In Mr. Williams’ case, the grand jury had the opportunity to hear from investigators and review any video footage before being presented with three possible offenses to indict on: murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide, Mr. Robinson told Appleseed.
“They took a long amount of time to hear the evidence and for their deliberations,” he said. But ultimately, they failed to receive 12 votes to indict.
Mr. Robinson also shared that if additional evidence or witnesses surface that might change the grand jury vote, he would consider re-presenting the case, which is something he has done in the past.
“Diffuse abrasions and contusions on his upper extremities that may be defensive in nature”
Dr. Edward Reedy, chief medical examiner for the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, conducted the autopsy, and his report includes details of Mr. Williams’ tragic last few days.
“There is evidence of ligature restraint on the decedent’s ankles and contusions on various locations that are also suggestive of manual restraint,” Mr. Reedy wrote in the report, also noting there were “Multiple abrasions and contusions in varying states of healing” and “diffuse abrasions and contusions on his upper extremities that may be defensive in nature….The cause of death was probable asphyxia due to smothering.”
Mr. Williams’ death, along with the deaths of numerous other incarcerated Alabamians, was brought to the attention of the Legislature’s Joint Prison Oversight Committee, which has held multiple public hearings in the last six months with several committee members showing increased concern about Alabama’s deadly prisons.
Appleseed’s executive director, Carla Crowder, addressed the Committee in a December 2023 meeting. “The 38-year-old suspect in this kidnapping, rape and torture was involved in nine instances of sex assault, rape, and stabbing since 2017 in ADOC while incarcerated. … There is no documentation that he was placed in segregation for any of these assaults. There was no disciplinary action by ADOC.”
“His classification summary showed a five-year clear record of institutional violence, which resulted in a perfect score of zero in risk assessment conducted in October, and a total score low enough for him to be placed in medium security in an open bay dorm. The psych associates signed off on this and the warden signed off on this,” Mrs. Crowder told committee members. “Nine days later, 22-year-old Daniel Williams … was found, according to ADOC, unresponsive on this inmate’s assigned bed.”
The 22-year-old’s death caught the attention of journalists across the U.S. and abroad. AL.com’s John Archibald in January noted that ADOC’s records identify the suspect as being one who assaulted Williams on Oct. 22, 2023. Archibald identifies the suspect as “Inmate X” in his article, as the man hadn’t been charged.
“Inmate Williams was found unresponsive on (Inmate X’s) assigned bed,” a DOC report says, according to Mr. Archibald’s reporting. “It appeared that victim had been assaulted. (Inmate X and two others) were believed to be involved in this incident.”
“Alabama prison officials wrote that report on Nov. 8, the day before Williams was taken off life support, two weeks after the assault, and only after Williams’ family hired a lawyer,” Mr. Archibald wrote. “Williams was declared dead the next day.”
ADOC didn’t classify the assault as a crime or levy a disciplinary charge, Mr. Archibald noted, but instead simply wrote the matter up as an “enemies report” which are supposed to be used to keep disputing incarcerated people from one-another.
Mr. Williams’ death contributed to the record number of deaths in ADOC last year, a total of 325.
What’s next for the grieving family?
Despite the lack of criminal charges, multiple civil lawsuits are on the horizon, adding to the dozens of cases the State of Alabama is currently defending over prison deaths, excessive force by staff, inadequate medical care, and unconstitutional conditions.
Andrew Menefee, an attorney representing Mr. Williams’ father, told Appleseed he plans to file a civil suit on behalf of the father. “Daniel Williams’ death was tragic but unfortunately representative of other prisoner deaths and civil rights violations that Alabama citizens routinely see occurring in the state prisons,” Mr. Menefee wrote in a statement.
Mr. Williams’ death came at a time when Alabama prisons are being closely watched by the U.S. Department of Justice, which in December 2020 sued the state and ADOC, alleging that the state “fails to provide adequate protection from prisoner-on-prisoner violence and prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse, fails to provide safe and sanitary conditions, and subjects prisoners to excessive force at the hands of prison staff,” according to the lawsuit.
Tammy Williams, Daniel’s mother, told Appleseed that their hearts are broken in the wake of the brutal and preventable death of their son.
“Daniel died from his injuries on the day he was set to be released from Staton. To those who mourn his loss with us: We thank you for the comfort and love you have shown us during these difficult times. To all others, we ask that you grant our family privacy pending the full outcome of this matter. We ask that you direct any and all inquiries to our attorney, Kirby Farris of Farris, Riley & Pitt,” Mrs. Williams said.
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