Stacy Carter was shocked when she learned her 27-year-old son had died at Wallens Ridge. An official at the prison told her Aubrey McKay was found dead in his cell, but the medical examiner told her the man was pronounced dead at a hospital and had suffered serious injuries.
“She told me all the head trauma he had, the black eyes he had, and that he had bruises on his arms and ankles from the handcuffs and the shackles," she recalls. "But her biggest concern was the fractured Adam’s apple, and she wasn’t happy about that, so she opened up an investigation.”
In early May, correctional officers were attacked by five inmates at that prison, and family members of at least five say their loved ones have been beaten by guards since then.
McKay’s mother says he had reported that officers at Wallens Ridge didn’t like him and used racist slurs.
“He did tell me that, and it used to make him very angry, but he was trying to hold himself together, because he wanted to come home.”
Aubrey McKay was set to be released in late July of this year – on his 28th birthday. Friends and family members are now raising money for his funeral, and his mother is calling for an independent investigation of his death.
The medical examiner's office told Radio IQ it could take several months to determine an official cause of death.
