Prison Conjugal Visit Turns Deadly for California Woman

IONE, Calif. — A woman was killed during a conjugal visit with her husband, a convicted murderer, at Mule Creek State Prison on November 13, authorities confirmed this week.

Stephanie Dowells, 62, was found unresponsive by prison guards after her husband, David Brinson, 54, called for help. Brinson, already serving a life sentence for the 1993 killings of four men, reported that Dowells had passed out.

The Amador County Coroner’s office later ruled Dowells’s death a homicide, with the cause determined to be strangulation. The incident has sparked outrage and concern regarding the safety protocols during family visits in California prisons.

“How could they just let this happen? I just don’t get it,” Armand Torres, Dowells’s son, told KCRA-TV. “My mom was just left alone, and she called for help, I’m sure, and there’s nothing she could do.”

David Brinson, who has been incarcerated at Mule Creek since 1994, had been granted an unsupervised conjugal visit in accordance with prison regulations that allow such visits under strict eligibility criteria. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), family visits are a privilege aimed at fostering family connections and rehabilitation.

The CDCR reaffirmed that only prisoners who demonstrate good behavior and meet specific program requirements qualify for family visitation, which can last from 30 to 40 hours in apartment-like units within the prison grounds. However, the department did not elaborate on how Brinson, with his violent history, was permitted a visit without supervision.

The prison’s operations manual states that inmates must check in periodically during family visits and states that unscheduled checks are permissible to ensure safety and security.

After the incident, Brinson was moved to a healthcare facility within the prison system but has not yet been charged in connection with his wife’s death. The Amador County District Attorney’s office is currently awaiting a complete autopsy report before deciding on any potential charges.

During the visit, after calling prison guards, attempts were made to revive Dowells, but she was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m. following the 911 call.

Stephanie Dowells was known by her family as a kind-hearted individual who supported her husband during his time in prison and even encouraged him to improve himself. Her family has expressed devastation in light of the tragic incident.

Despite Brinson’s past, which includes a conviction for shooting four men in a robbery in 1990, he qualified for family visits, raising concerns about the protocols in place to protect visitors.

As of now, the investigation into Dowells’s death is ongoing, and the Amador County sheriff has stressed the need for further analysis before any actionable steps are taken.