A former Alabama Department of Corrections officer – and two inmates – are facing murder charges in the Wednesday death of an inmate at Elmore Correctional Facility.

Correctional Sgt. Demarcus Sanders and the inmates – Fredrick Gooden and Stefranio Hampton have all now been charged with murder, according to Kelly Betts, spokeswoman for the prisons system.

Sanders, who has resigned his position with ADOC, is being held at the Elmore County Jail without bond.  The inmates remain in ADOC custody.

The victim – Rubyn James Murray – was involved in an incident outside of his dorm with correctional staff officers resulting in a physical altercation with one of the officers.  Murray was taken to the back gate holding area in order to be transported to the Staton Health Care Unit for medical assessment and treatment.

Before the scheduled transport could occur – and in violation of ADOC policy – two other inmates allegedly gained access to the holding area.  Murray was found unresponsive, and he was then transported to the health care facility at Staton and then to an area hospital for emergency treatment.

Medical staff was unable to resuscitate Murray and he was then pronounced dead by the attending physician.

The cause of Murray’s death in pending.

Murray, age 38, was serving a 20-year sentence for robbery out of Montgomery County; meanwhile, Gooden, age 60, is serving a 30-year sentence for theft of property out of Jefferson County, and Hampton, age 35, is serving a life sentence for robbery, out of Montgomery County.

The ADOC said in a statement, it has reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Mobile Field Office and to the Elmore County District Attorney’s Office about the incident.

(The Gadsden Times)