‘Get Help’: Woman says brother is seriously ill in Alabama prison, ADOC says he is getting ‘necessary treatment

By Carol Robinson and Lawrence Specker

A south Alabama woman is pleading for help for her brother after she says she received photos showing him in dire medical distress in a state prison.

Kassie Vaughan’s Facebook post about her brother, Kastellio Vaughan, has been shared more than 12,000 times and has captured the attention of inmate advocate groups.

The post included a photo of a healthy Kastellio, age 32, accompanied by disturbing photos showing him emaciated. In one of the photos, his eyes appeared to be rolling back into his head.

Kastellio is an inmate at Elmore Correctional Facility in central Alabama. He began serving a 20-year sentence in 2019 for multiple convictions out of Baldwin and Mobile counties for burglary and unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle, court and prison records show.

He was up for parole in June, but that parole was denied. He will be eligible again for parole consideration in June of 2027.

Efforts to get more information from Kassie Vaughan were not successful.

“The Alabama Department of Corrections understands there is concern about the welfare of inmate Kastello Demarcus Vaughan,” the ADOC wrote in an email to AL.com.

“He is assigned to Elmore Correctional Facility (CF) but is currently housed at Staton Medical Observation Unit. ADOC’s Office of Health Services has fully investigated his situation from a clinical perspective, and he has been offered all necessary treatment for his condition. Also, he has been in touch with his family to update them on his situation.”

Vaughan is serving a 25-year sentence for Burglary I out of Mobile County.

According to Kassie’s post, she last visited with her brother on July 24, and he was in good condition. On Wednesday, she said she received the new photos with the message, “Get Help.”

She asked for her post to be shared and provided information for others to contact the Alabama Department of Corrections. “As you can see in these photos, he is extremely malnourished. In these particular photos, he cannot walk nor stand. He is weak and vulnerable.”

“This is urgent, and I’m concerned and scared for my brother’s health,’’ she wrote.

Others are joining in Kassie’s pleas for help.

“We will not allow another one of our loved ones to leave the ADOC in a body bag due to medical neglect,’’ according to a statement from Concerned Families of Incarcerated Citizens of Alabama. “This young man should not have been in population suffering to this magnitude.”

“He has been turned away by staff several times and this is a situation that could have been handled in a timely and more appropriate manner,’’ the group wrote. “We ask that he is sent to an outside physician to be properly diagnosed and treated.”

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