By Kelly Kazek
An autopsy has determined Farron Barksdale died of natural causes and showed no signs of trauma while in a state prison, but an attorney for his mother wants to know why his body was badly bruised before his death.
“I’m going to find out what happened,” said Jake Watson, who was one of Barksdale’s defense attorneys and now represents Farron’s mother, Mary Barksdale. “He died of natural causes apparently because of the conditions at the prison. We want to know if he was beaten, if he died because he was put in a brutally hot environment, whether he was given incorrect medication…Sheriff Mike Blakely had him for three years and he did fine. The DOC had him for three days and he’s dead. I think that demands answers.”
The Alabama Department of Corrections e-mailed a press release to news outlets Friday stating that a final autopsy from the Department of Forensic Sciences showed Barksdale died from “complications of bronchopneumonia, with contributory factors of hyperthermia and coagulopathy.”
Hyperthermia occurs when the body produces more heat than it can dissipate. Coagulopathy is a defect in the blood’s ability to clot.
Corrections Commissioner Richard Allen told the Associated Press Friday he is satisfied with the autopsy report.
“It confirms what we thought and that was he didn’t receive a beating and was not traumatized by anyone while he was in our custody,” Allen said. “I always knew that and I believe my investigation was right. I don’t feel vindicated, but I feel pleased that it came out this way. It confirms what we determined.”
Allen said a forensic pathologist hired by lawyers representing the Barksdale family observed his medical care while he was in the hospital and was also present during the autopsy.
Barksdale, an Athens man incarcerated at Kilby Correctional Facility when he mysteriously collapsed, died Aug. 20 at the age of 32 at Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery.
He had been housed at Limestone County Jail from Jan. 2, 2004, when he was arrested for fatally shooting two Athens Police officers, until Aug. 8, when he was transferred to Kilby after a judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
At the time Barksdale died, Alabama was in the midst of a severe heat wave. State prisons are not air-conditioned and large fans are used to cool inmates.
The report released Friday stated: “No evidence of external or internal trauma is identified.”
However, Watson said he wants to know the cause of bruising on Barksdale’s body. Watson, who heard about the autopsy results when reporters called him for comment late Friday afternoon, had not seen the report.
“It’s my understanding they’re saying he died of natural causes,” Watson said, referring to DOC officials. “This is my question: We’ve been fighting for more than two months to get photographs that we know depict serious, serious bruising. They’ve denied us access to that.”
In August, a judge ordered that a forensic expert working on behalf of Farron’s family be allowed to witness his care while in the hospital and be present at the autopsy. Watson said this pathologist, who formerly worked at the Department of Forensic Sciences, saw the photos depicting bruising on Farron’s body.
“He had the opportunity to view the photographs of Mr. Barksdale when he was first brought into the hospital,” Watson said.
DOC Commissioner Richard Allen, quoted in the DOC e-mail, stated: “A forensic pathologist, hired by attorneys representing the Barksdale family, observed his medical care while in the hospital, and the pathologist was also present during the autopsy. I am pleased to see that these findings are consistent with our own internal investigation. Because of the unique circumstances surrounding this case, I asked the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation, and we have not yet received that report.”
Watson called it “shocking” that the autopsy report was released to the media while neither Farron’s attorneys nor his family members were notified. The DOC was not required to send it to them. The e-mail contained only a summary by the DOC of the pathologist’s findings. The News Courier sent the required written request and $10 fee to the Department of Forensic Sciences for a copy of the full autopsy and will report any additional information upon receipt.
A lawsuit filed in September on behalf of Mary Barksdale by Watson and Atlanta’s Southern Center for Human Rights against the DOC seeking access to records in Farron’s case will continue, Watson said. The DOC filed a motion to in October to dismiss that case, saying prison records do not fall under the Open Records Act.
Watson said he would take the fight for those records to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
Shot officers
Officer Larry Mims and Sgt. Larry Russell were shot to death outside Mary Barksdale’s Athens home with a gun Farron purchased in Huntsville, according to sheriff’s reports. The officers were responding to a 911 call made by Farron. He had been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and was involuntarily committed to mental institutions several times before the shooting.
Farron pleaded guilty in late July to avoid the death penalty and was convicted in a “mini trial” here Aug. 6.
He was found unresponsive in his single-inmate cell at Kilby on Aug. 11, three days after Limestone Sheriff’s deputies transported him to Kilby. The inmate was inspected by a medical examiner and videotaped upon arrival there. He showed no bruising at that time, according to DOC spokesman Brian Corbett.
