Muslim Group Requests Alabama to Refrain from Conducting Autopsy on Executed Inmate's Body

A national Muslim civil rights group urged Alabama officials on Thursday to respect the wishes of Death Row inmate Keith Edmund Gavin, who has requested that no autopsy be performed on his body following his execution next week for the 1998 murder of a courier driver.

Gavin, 64, identifies as a devout Muslim and has stated he will not pursue further appeals before his scheduled lethal injection on July 18 at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. In June, he filed a lawsuit requesting the state to forgo the customary post-execution autopsy, citing his religious beliefs. This lawsuit was filed after unsuccessful attempts by his attorneys to reach an agreement with the state.

An official from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office indicated earlier this week that they were working towards a resolution.

Attempts to contact Gavin’s attorneys have been unsuccessful.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, issued a statement on Thursday urging Alabama officials to honor Gavin’s request against conducting an autopsy.

“The religious freedom guaranteed to every American in our founding documents does not cease to apply behind bars. We urge Alabama state officials to accept Mr. Gavin’s request that his body not be autopsied after execution,” said Corey Saylor, CAIR’s Research and Advocacy Director.

According to Islamic beliefs, autopsies are generally considered impermissible mutilation of the deceased but may be allowed in cases of necessity and only to the extent required, the statement noted.

“There appears to be no reason an autopsy is necessary in this case,” added Saylor.

Gavin was sentenced to death for the March 1998 murder of William Clayton Jr. in Cherokee County. At the time, he was on parole for a previous murder in Illinois when he was arrested for the shooting death of Clayton, a courier service driver who had parked his van to use an ATM machine in downtown Centre. Clayton had finished his deliveries for the day and was stopping at Regions Bank to withdraw money to take his wife to dinner.