A state inmate died Sunday at William Donaldson Correctional Facility in western Jefferson County.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified the inmate Monday as John Lionel Buskey. He was 63.

Buskey was serving a life sentence for the 1993 shooting death of his father, State Rep. John Buskey Sr. The deadly shooting during a domestic dispute happened in Montgomery.

Authorities said Buskey was found unresponsive at 4:39 a.m. Sunday on the floor of a prison dorm. He was pronounced dead at 5:05 a.m.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said there was no sign of foul play or trauma. The cause of death is pending additional lab studies.

The Alabama Department of Corrections – Law Enforcement Services Division is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.

Rep. Buskey was 54 at the time of his death, according to wire reports at the time. His brother was state Rep. James Buskey, D-Mobile.

John Buskey Sr., a Democrat and educator, was elected to the Legislature in 1986 to the west Montgomery District 77 seat. He was among 13 other Black lawmakers arrested when they attempted to remove the Confederate flag from atop the state Capitol in February 1988.

He won a second term in 1990.

His death shocked some of Alabama’s best-known political figures.

“I enjoyed working with him. We ask all Alabamians to pray for Rep. Buskey’s loved ones at this time,” then-Gov. Guy Hunt said.