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He was called one of the most violent prison guards in America. He got promoted
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Guardian
Posted: January 22nd, 2026
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/09/alabama-pris...
Roderick Gadson, an Alabama prison guard, was questioned under oath about an incident in which he and other officers used such devastating force against a prisoner that the man had to be airlifted to hospital to treat his injuries. Gadson was shown a photograph of the man, Steven Davis. He was lying in an ICU bed breathing through a tube, his cadaverous face bruised and covered with blood, his eyes black and sunken. Gadson was asked whether he felt that the amount of force used had been appropriate, given the way Davis looked. He replied: “I don’t feel like nothing. I just did my job.” On 4 October 2019, Gadson and five other officers were called to respond to a security breach inside Donaldson correctional facility. Davis ... was lying prone and unresistant on the ground. Gadson took the lead. One of the witnesses said the officer hit Davis “with his metal stick in the head, picked him up, throwed him down. He stomped the dude with his size 15 boot. The guy’s head bounced like a basketball.” David died the following day. The cause of death was officially recorded as homicide caused by “blunt force injuries of head sustained in an assault”. Despite evidence of a physical assault by Gadson and the other officers, they were all cleared after an internal investigation. Six months later, Gadson was promoted ... to sergeant. Then, in July 2021, he [was] promoted a second time, 21 months after a prisoner in his care had been beaten to death. Now he holds the exalted status of lieutenant.
Note: For more along these lines, read our concise summaries of news articles on prison system corruption.
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