Alabama death row inmate takes his own life before state can

Alabama death row inmate Jeffrey Lynn Borden beat the state to the punch, he died of an apparent suicide, according to the state Department of Corrections and AL.Com.

According to information released Sunday afternoon by the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), Borden was found "hanging by a bed sheet in his cell at approximately 2:30 a.m. during a security check." Borden was pronounced dead at 3 a.m.

The ADOC statement said Borden's remains had been turned over to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

John Palombi, a federal defender who'd represented Borden, issued the following statement: "We are saddened to hear of Mr. Borden's apparent suicide. Mr. Borden suffered from severe mental illness and chronic physical pain, both of which were undertreated by the Department of Corrections despite their knowledge of these issues. We hope that the conditions that led to underfunding and understaffing of the Department, and thus contributed to Mr. Borden's death, will be remedied."

Borden had been on death row since 1995, when he was sentenced for the 1993 murders of Cheryl Borden and Roland Harris. The murders took place at a family gathering in Gardendale on Christmas Eve.

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