Death Row Inmate Who Sued Over His Autopsy Wins

UPDATE Jul 15, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Alabama will break with protocol and not perform an autopsy on a death row inmate who sued the state, saying the procedure would violate his Islamic beliefs. Keith Gavin, to be executed this week, sought a court order to block an autopsy, saying it would violate a tenant of Islam that teaches that the sacred body must be kept whole, as well as his right to religious freedom. The Alabama Department of Corrections responded Friday, saying "no autopsy will be performed." Alabama law requires a medical examiner to investigate any death in any penal institution, but it's up to state officials to order an autopsy, per CNN.

Jul 11, 2024 8:31 AM CDT

Keith Gavin is set to be put to death next week in Alabama, but there won't be an autopsy afterward if he can help it. CNN reports that lawyers for the inmate, 64-year-old Gavin, a devout Muslim who was convicted in the 1998 shooting death of a delivery driver, filed a complaint last month saying that an autopsy would violate his "sincerely held religious beliefs." Islam teaches that "the human body is a sacred temple, which must be kept whole," the filing reads, adding that an autopsy conducted after his execution would "violate the sanctity of keeping his human body intact." Gavin's complaint also says an autopsy would violate state law on holding prisoner autopsies if their death was deemed "unlawful, suspicious, or unnatural."

"After Mr. Gavin's execution, there will be no question as to who or what caused Mr. Gavin's death. The State will execute him by lethal injection," his lawsuit notes. The complaint adds that Gavin's lawyers have made no headway in having "meaningful discussions" with the defendants, per the AP, including the Escambia County DA, the commissioner of the state's corrections department, and the warden at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility where Gavin is incarcerated. AL.com notes that Gavin's execution by lethal injection is set for July 18, but it may be pushed to the next day if there are further delays. (More death row stories.)