From The Tribune staff reports
BESSEMER The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office announced the death of two people incarcerated at Williams Donaldson Correctional Facility.
Dewitt Searight, 77, died of natural causes, according to Coroner Bill Yates. Searight had been hospitalized since Jan. 20, 2021, at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center due to complications from a previous stroke. He died on Feb. 8. Searight was serving a life sentence for a murder in Butler County.
On Feb. 9, David Lee Franklin, 31, died at the prison. Franklin, who was serving a 30-year sentence for possession of a controlled substance out of Jefferson County, was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell and was pronounced dead on the scene. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death.