State Inmate Killed in Prison Assault

FILE – William E. Donaldson prison in Bessemer, Ala. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

An Alabama inmate serving life imprisonment after being convicted of murder in 1993 died in an assault at Donaldson prison in Bessemer.

Authorities say 49-year-old William Eric Jennings was found unresponsive in his two-man cell on Tuesday night after suffering blunt-force injuries during a reported assault by another inmate.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office says he died early Wednesday.  Jennings was serving life without parole after being convicted of killing a man in Jefferson County.

Jennings was at least the second inmate killed at Donaldson prison in about a week.

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