Steven Edward Davis was 35 when he was fatally injured during an altercation at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama. On October 4, 2019, he was airlifted to a local hospital with severe head injuries and pronounced dead the next day. A medical examiner ruled the cause of death blunt force injuries to the head and classified it a homicide.

The Alabama Department of Corrections reported that Davis had brandished two prison-made weapons and rushed an officer, refusing verbal commands to disarm, prompting officers to use physical measures. Eyewitnesses, including other inmates, told a different story: they said Davis had dropped the weapons and was complying with orders when the assault began. Incarcerated witnesses named officer Roderick Gadson as striking Davis with a baton and stomping on his head.

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office declined to prosecute and an internal ADOC investigation found the use of force justified; one officer resigned and another stayed on staff. Davis’s family filed a civil rights lawsuit that resulted in a $250,000 settlement. The case has since been the subject of a documentary and prompted a petition seeking a federal investigation. Did anyone inside the prison or with knowledge of the postincident reviews see details that could clarify what actually happened?