Shelby County Man Convicted Of Killing Grandmother Hangs Himself

SHELBY COUNTY, AL - A man who pleaded guilty to murdering his grandmother in 2012 was found hanging in his jail cell last week. Daniel Scott Gentry, 31, was found by William Donaldson Correctional Facility officers Wednesday at 10:40 p.m. and pronounced dead on the scene at 10:56 p.m.

Gentry was serving a sentence of life without parole for the 2012 death of Carrie Elaine Gentry, a minister who allowed her grandson to live with her after he underwent drug rehabilitation. She had disappeared about a month from her 65th birthday, according to a report by Alabama Media Group.

According to court records, Daniel Gentry killed his grandmother by possibly stabbing her with a knife, striking her with a hammer, choking her or causing her asphyxiation with his hands or other object. He initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect but later pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.

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While he was in jail awaiting trial, Gentry wrote multiple letters to the court officials, including one in 2015 seeking the plea agreement. "I cannot explain all of my thoughts at the time of this tragic incident, though a terrible mistake was made," Gentry wrote in the letter. "Even though I know that I was not of sound mind I would like to respectfully request and I will respectfully accept a life sentence with the chance at parole and possible release."

The Southern Poverty Law Center said 13 inmates have committed suicide in Alabama prisons since December 2017.

Photo via Shelby County Jail