Earlier, BOSSIP covered the story of Kelvin Moore, an inmate at Limestone Correctional Facility. After Moore passed away, his major organs were taken out during an autopsy, and the rest of his body was given back to his family. Understandably, Moore’s family was angry and demanded justice for the violation of their loved one.
As per a recent report from Cleveland19, five families have now filed lawsuits against the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Pathology for removing their family members’ organs without permission. The families of Charles Edward Singleton, Arthur Olen Stapler, Jim William Kennedy, Anthony Perez Brackins, Brandon Dotson, and the late Kelvin Moore are seeking answers and compensation for the university’s improper actions.
In response to the legal proceedings, UAB issued a statement:
“We follow the laws on autopsies; our procedures mandate documented consent as per the law, which includes consent for organ disposal necessary for determining cause of death. UAB only conducts autopsies on incarcerated individuals after the ADOC certifies that the autopsy has been duly authorized by a proper legal representative of the deceased. A group of medical ethicists has examined and endorsed our autopsy guidelines for incarcerated persons. Due to ongoing legal action and medical record privacy laws, we cannot discuss any specific autopsies.”
According to CNN, Alabama passed a law in 2021 mandating that a medical examiner must notify the next of kin and receive permission to retain a deceased person’s organs for educational purposes or to establish the cause of death. This situation appears to contradict that law. There is currently a proposed bill suggesting that such actions will be classified as class C felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
