The Pain And Suffering Of Incarceration In Alabama

Courtney Davis spends every waking moment of her busy life worrying that her husband will die in prison.

BY BETH SHELBURNE, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, CAMPAIGN FOR SMART JUSTICE

Courtney doesn’t have time to spare. She works full time in property management, and also homeschools her teenage daughter, leads two small groups at her church and is in the CORE program at Highlands College, which teaches ministry and leadership skills.

Her husband of four years, David Allen Davis, has been incarcerated at Bibb Correctional Facility since July, 2019. David currently suffers from multiple large and painful hernias that have caused an obstruction in his abdomen.

David says some days the pain is unbearable, and stomach cramps make it hard for him to breathe. He’s also experiencing nausea, vomiting frequently and cycling between extreme constipation and diarrhea. The risks of not operating include an abdominal rupture, which could lead to infection or even death.

Courtney took a few photos of his abdomen in January and February of 2019, while he was held in the St. Clair County jail when the hernias first developed.

David Davis in St. Clair County Jail, January 2019 (front facing)

David Davis in St. Clair County Jail, January 2019 (side facing)

The hernias have now doubled in size. David’s belly is so swollen, Courtney says he’s almost unrecognizable and looks deformed. A big guy, David normally wears an XL shirt, but is now wearing size 3X. He says it feels like his stomach will explode.

“I don’t want to be like this for the rest of my life,” David told me over the phone. “I’m afraid I could die, or it will get so bad they won’t ever be able to fix it.”

David, before and after incarceration [provided by family]

Before David entered ADOC custody, a specialist at UAB recommended the hernias be corrected through surgery as soon as possible. David saw the specialist while he was being held in jail, but he was sentenced and turned over to ADOC custody before the surgery ever happened.

The hernias formed after David underwent surgery to repair critical, internal injuries he suffered in a car accident that led to his incarceration.

David has a past history with addiction, and during a relapse in 2018, he used heroin and got behind the wheel, causing an accident near his home in Odenville that killed the other driver. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years.

When David arrived at Bibb in June, he met with a nurse and told her he was in severe pain and a doctor had advised him to undergo surgery. At that moment, chaos broke out in the infirmary as a man having a psychotic episode while under the influence of a synthetic drug was brought in. David said the infirmary staff quickly moved away to stabilize the overdose patient and David was sent off to his dorm.

“I think they know it’s serious, but they just don’t want to spend the money or have the capability to treat it,” David said. “It seems like they are waiting for a life-threatening emergency before they do anything.”

Since he’s been at Bibb, David says he’s seen a doctor twice. The last time was August 9, when she took pictures of his hernias and told him she was going to try to get his surgery approved.

More than two months later, his symptoms continue to worsen. David has made numerous requests for help from the infirmary, but has only had a few brief visits with a nurse, who gave him Tylenol and Milk of Magnesia, for which he was charged $12.

David has filled out a grievance form with the prison, but still hasn’t gotten a response. Every day that he doesn’t get the surgery, he and Courtney worry something terrible might happen.

“My husband deserves better,” Courtney said. “How can people see another person suffering and just not care?”

David’s swollen belly has also caused security problems for him inside the prison. Several officers have stopped him because they suspected he was smuggling contraband under his shirt. David said in one incident, an officer on the Correctional Emergency Response Team or CERT, hit him in the stomach several times, causing him to double over in pain.

David’s issues regarding medical care in ADOC custody are hardly isolated. In June 2014, the Southern Poverty Law Center sued ADOC for its failure to provide constitutionally adequate medical, dental, and mental health care. In 2017, a federal judge found the prison mental health care to be "horrendously inadequate" and has since ordered ADOC to implement a myriad of reforms. The medical care claim is still pending before a federal district court.

Meanwhile, David tries to bear each day in ADOC custody and hopes that someone will finally heed his calls for help. David knows he has made mistakes but wasn’t prepared to endure this level of suffering and frustration, which he and Courtney both feel is unjust and inhumane.

“I got sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter and I’m here to do my time,” David told me. “I didn’t get sentenced to be deformed for the rest of my life because they won’t get me the treatment I need.”

Beth Shelburne is an investigative reporter for the Campaign for Smart Justice with the ACLU of Alabama. For investigative reporting on Alabama’s prison and pardons & paroles systems, follow her on Twitter at @bshelburne.

Scroll to Top