An inmate already serving multiple life sentences without the possibility for parole is now facing charges for the alleged murder of his wife during a conjugal visit at Mule Creek State Prison, as reported by CBS News Sacramento. David Brinson, 54, is accused of strangling Stephanie Dowells, 62, during her visit on November 13, 2024. The Amador County District Attorney's office has formally charged Brinson following the declaration by the county coroner that Dowells was strangled, according to KCRA 3.
Stephanie Dowells' death marks the second such incident at the facility last year after the July 1 death of Tania Thomas. Brinson, who has been in custody since February 1994 for his prior convictions, reported that his wife had passed out and she was later declared dead at 2:51 a.m. In light of Brinson's record, Dowells' family, along with public sentiment, is casting a critical eye on how such an unsupervised visit was authorized, especially considering Brinson’s history of violent crime.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) states that inmates are usually barred from receiving conjugal visits if they are on Death Row or have been convicted of sexual offenses. However, there is no explicit mention of disqualifying inmates with convictions for other violent crimes. The CDCR does maintain that prisoners must "apply and meet strict eligibility criteria to be approved," for such visits, which are described as largely unsupervised events in private, apartment-like settings on the prison grounds, as noted by KCRA 3.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Inspector General Independent Prison Oversight found "adequate" performance in the staff's conduct with no misconduct identified in the investigation of the earlier incident involving Thomas, as mentioned by CBS News Sacramento. Despite this, the families of both Dowells, and Thomas have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the CDCR earlier this year, questioning the efficacy and robustness of the department's policies and practices surrounding family visits in prison settings. Mule Creek reports nearly fourteen family visits weekly, making it one of the state's highest for this kind of visitation.
