Denarieya “DL” Smith’s brutal death in a Bessemer prison this month was “one of 32 deaths at this facility, this year alone,” Alabama attorney Joe Caldwell said Friday.

“That is 32 too many in this horrifying trend,” Caldwell told a Friday press conference on the steps of the Covington County Courthouse. He is with the law firm of Cory Watson Attorneys representing the Smith family.

Smith, 30, was beaten and stabbed to death Oct. 1 at the Donaldson Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Bessemer. According to Caldwell, staff failed to arrive at the scene in time to save Smith even though other inmates were yelling for help.

Smith was serving a life sentence for a 2017 conviction of attempted murder. The Alabama Department of Corrections is investigating his death, and Caldwell read a statement from Smith’s family.

“We are heartbroken following the tragic and entirely unnecessary death of DL. Not only did the guards and staff at Donaldson Correctional Facility fail to protect DL from this brutal beating by an inmate, they also ignored the many calls for help to save DL’s life. There are far too many questions that remain unanswered at this point.

“DL was given a sentence, but his sentence was not death,” the statement said. “At the time of his sentencing, he was truly remorseful and working to better himself. Often, DL would call home and tell us to pass on a simple message to the young people in our community: prison is not where you want to be.”

“We will investigate and intend to hold Donaldson Correctional Facility accountable in pursuing justice for DL’s family,” Rick DiGiorgio, lead attorney on the case, said earlier this week.

The 32 inmates who have died so far this year at Donaldson surpass the 2021 tally of 26 inmate deaths for the entire year.

According to the ADOC, deaths at Donaldson have trended upward in recent years. ADOC said 17 inmates died in 2019, and 22 in 2020.