Frightening photos of Alabama prisoner go viral, but state DOC claims he won't cooperate with medical advice

The family of a prisoner in Alabama has taken to social media to share photos which they say demonstrate that the state Department of Corrections has neglected his health. However, the ADOC has since released other information which suggests the man may have defied the recommendations of those treating him.

Kastello Vaughan, aka Kastellio, 32, has been housed at Elmore Correctional Facility since July 2019, serving a 20-year sentence for first-degree robbery, breaking into a vehicle, and several other crimes he committed in Baldwin and Mobile counties. Family members visited him on July 24 of this year, at which time his sister Kassie Vaughan claimed he appeared "in good condition." However, they say that they recently received alarming photos which indicate that his health has deteriorated rapidly of late. They visited him again on Sunday and said they are now convinced that prison officials have neglected his care.

"He's looking terrible," said another sister, Kascie Vaughan, twin sister of Kassie. "Just one word: terrible. He's feeling weak in spirit. He's really just, he's really feeling low. He doesn't look like Kastellio, the brother that we know."

Kassie Vaughan shared the disturbing images on Facebook, and they have since gone viral. Kastello Vaughan's lawyers — Lee Merritt, Harry Daniels, and Ben Crump — claim that he has lost 75 lbs. in less than a month. He also has difficulty walking, they say, and must wear absorbent undergarments, which a fellow prisoner must help him change.

In another post, Kassie Vaughan wrote that her brother's feet are still discolored and "swollen" to "the size of footballs," and that he "is scared to lose his legs and his life." She, other family members, and his legal team say they remain "deeply concerned about his safety in that prison."

However, the ADOC has released a statement claiming that Kastello Vaughan has been given "a constitutional level [of] care," but that he has not followed the advice of doctors and nurses. Officials claim that he has received medical attention at least 11 times since July 30, including surgery for a bowel obstruction on August 5. This bowel obstruction, the statement asserted, was a continued complication stemming from a gunshot wound he sustained previously.

However, the statement continued, Vaughan discharged himself "Against Medical Advice" five days later. After he was treated again for the same issue on September 3, the ADOC said Vaughan once again discharged himself AMA four days later and then "refused all medication."

"The ADOC offers medical assessment and treatment to all inmates but does not force them to accept that care," the statement concluded.

Kassie Vaughan dismissed that statement as "A LIE" on Facebook and denied that her brother ever signed a waiver to release his medical records, as the ADOC claimed in its statement. She asserted that he "is not in the correct mental state to sign anything."

On her brother's behalf, Kassie Vaughan also reportedly created a GoFundMe account, which has already raised nearly $51,000 for further legal expenses.

"It doesn't matter what Kastellio did, why he was in jail," said his attorney Harry Daniels. "Doesn't matter. As society as a whole, as human beings, we have a duty to one another. It doesn't matter what that person is imprisoned for.

"We need this man to get well, all right. We need him to get help. That's not asking for a whole lot."