Corrections Officer Charged In Inmate's Death At Bessemer Prison

BESSEMER, AL — Four inmates have died in the last four weeks at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, and a correctional officer has been charged in one of the deaths. Lt. Mohammad Jenkins faces assault charges after an altercation with inmate Victor Russo, who died after the incident.

Russo, who was serving a life sentence for a 1987 murder in Jefferson County, was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital from blunt force trauma.

Jenkins was arrested after an investigation into the incident by the Alabama Department of Corrections. He resigned from his position immediately following his arrest.

Russo's death was the third death at the prison in as many weeks.

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 33-year-old Barry Wardell Gardner was found stabbed to death in an open-style dormitory at the prison. Gardner was serving a 13-year sentence for burglary and theft convictions.

On Friday, Feb. 18, Johnathan Ray Revells, 42, was found unresponsive in his single-man cell by correctional staff performing a routine cell check.

Revells was serving a life sentence for a Lee County murder in 2004. An autopsy performed Saturday revealed no foul play or trauma, but the cause of Revells' death has not been determined by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.

William Eric Jennings, 49, was found unresponsive in his two-man cell on the evening of March 1.

Reports say Jennings died from blunt force trauma after a fight with another inmate.
Jennings was serving a life sentence after being convicted of the 1993 murder of Brian Keith Weston in Jefferson County.