In the confines of St. Clair Correctional Facility, a dispute over a misplaced cell phone escalated into a fatal act of violence on September 14, 2009, ending the life of inmate Michael Darrell Turner. His assailant, Taurus Jermaine Carroll, was already serving a life sentence for a prior capital murder conviction.
The conflict began when Carroll accused Turner of stealing his contraband cell phone.
Despite Turner's repeated denials, Carroll, armed with a shiv fashioned from an air conditioner vent, attacked him. Turner sustained 16 stab wounds to his head, neck, and body. He was transported to the prison infirmary, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Following the assault, Carroll confessed to a correctional officer, admitting his intent to kill Turner. The next day, after being read his Miranda rights, he provided a full, recorded confession to investigators from the Alabama Department of Corrections.
In September of 2012, a St. Clair County jury recommended the death penalty for Carroll by a vote of 12-0, a sentence the judge later imposed. An appeal of his capital murder conviction was denied by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in August 2015.
