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The Alabama Department of Corrections has named Michael Wood as the interim facility head of Fountain Correctional Facility, according to a statement from a department spokesperson.
In a statement provided to APR on Monday, a department spokesperson confirmed that Woods, formally Warden I at the Escambia County facility, was named chief Warden.
The position was previously held by Warden III Reosha Butler, who was named head of the Escambia County facility following the departure of Mary Cooks in early 2021.
It is unclear if Butler has departed or was removed by correctional administrators, and when asked if warden Butler had been relieved of the position as lead warden of the close-security facility, a spokesperson said that the department “is unable to comment on personnel matters.”
Reached by phone later on Monday, Butler said that the news of departure was incorrect and declined to answer questions.
Fountain Correctional Facility, recently re-designated a close-security, or “maximum security” facility, had a month-end incarcerated population of over 1,240 in November, making it the third largest close-security facility in the state correctional system. The prison has a designed capacity of 831, making it approximately 149 percent overcapacity.
Fountain was the site of at least one recent death in December of last year when Eddie Richmond III was found unresponsive in his bed on Dec. 15. and pronounced dead later that same day. Richmond had previously been transported to an area hospital close to the thanksgiving holiday to receive treatment for an unspecified illness and was “recovering in an area hospital” on Nov. 25.
Roughly three weeks later, he was dead. Richmond was 20 years old.
