Crime & Safety
Inmate At Bessemer Prison Becomes Facility's 3rd Death In A Week
Three inmates have died at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer in the last seven days, the latest pronounced dead Friday morning.
BESSEMER, AL — For the third time this week, an inmate at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer has died. Victor Joseph Russo, 60, died Friday morning at UAB Hospital.
Russo, who was serving a life sentence for a 1987 murder in Jefferson County, was pronounced dead from blunt force trauma.
Russo becomes the third fatality among inmates at the prison this month. Wednesday, 33-year-old Barry Wardell Gardner was found stabbed to death in an open-style dormitory. Gardner was serving a 13-year sentence for burglary and theft convictions.
Find out what's happening in Birminghamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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.
Find out what's happening in Birminghamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Alabama Department of Corrections is still investigating the three deaths.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.