Alabama sent him back to prison after shaking him to a bed as he was dying.

Brian Rigsby, 46, was strapped to a hospital bed in Montgomery, Alabama, in September 2023. His liver was failing, his right wrist was shackled, and time was running short. He had been sent to Jackson Hospital from Staton Correctional Facility ten days prior due to intense stomach ache. The news was dire: his liver was irreparably damaged by untreated hepatitis C.

Rigsby had to make a decision, and he did. He declined aggressive treatment after speaking with his parents. A losing struggle was not one he would engage in. He desired to pass away in the company of those who knew and loved him, on his own terms, and without needless interventions.

However, the jail system in Alabama had other ideas.

A Mother's Request, Ignored

Rigsby's mother, Pamela Moser, a former hospice nurse, acted quickly. In an attempt to bring her son home so she could oversee his treatment and provide him with the respect everyone deserves in their last days, she submitted a request under Alabama's medical furlough program.

However, Rigsby was running out of time, and bureaucracy is a slow-moving beast.

YesCare, the private healthcare contractor in charge of providing medical services in Alabama's jails, made a shocking conclusion before the request had ever been examined. Following Rigsby's move to palliative care, YesCare notified Jackson Hospital that it would no longer cover his stay.

They then made arrangements for him to be returned to prison, according to hospital documents provided to KFF Health News.

Head back to the hospital. back in prison. Returning to a prison cell to die.

Moser was never able to bid farewell.

"I hoped that hospital would be where he took his final breath."

Moser's voice broke as she remarked, "I hoped he would breathe his last breath the last day I saw him." "I really did not want him to return to the infirmary."

Brian Rigsby passed away from liver failure just one week after being sent back to Staton Correctional Facility.

A Structure That Disregards Dignity

Questions concerning Rigsby's case received no response from YesCare or the Alabama Department of Corrections. However, families, medical professionals, and advocates throughout are tragically familiar with his narrative.

Narratives like Rigsby's are growing unsettlingly common as the number of inmates in the United States ages—more than 200,000 of them are now over the age of 55. Every year, thousands of inmates pass away, many of them from fatal or chronic conditions. However, there are not many compassionate end-of-life care options available within the system.