Donaldson Prison Inmate Stabs Correctional Officer

A correctional officer assigned to the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer was stabbed by an inmate while responding to an emergency call at the facility on Wednesday.

The stabbing happened at approximately 5:30 p.m. when the officer confronted the inmate who was attempting to flee from other officers inside the facility.   The officer was transported to a Birmingham hospital where he is listed in stable condition.    Officers detained the inmate and recovered a makeshift knife used in the stabbing.

Thirty-three year old Sahking Burke, who is serving life-without-parole for a 2006 murder conviction out of Jefferson County, will be charged with assaulting and stabbing the officer.

Prison officials notified the officer’s family and placed the facility on lockdown while the ADOC investigates the incident.

The William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison housing more than 1,400 inmates.