Inmate's sister claims he was manhandled in prison, shares horrific images of his worsening condition

On Sunday, Kassie and Kascie Vaughan, twins, went to see their brother at the Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore, Alabama, where they found him unable to walk, severely underweight, and essentially unrecognizable. The family of 32-year-old Kastellio Vaughan, who was found guilty of breaking and entering and burglary in 2019, says the Alabama Department of Corrections is disregarding his health, and they now fear for his life. "He's looking terrible. Just one word, terrible. He's feeling weak in spirit. He's really just, he's really feeling low," Kascie Vaughan told ABC News. "He doesn't look like Kastellio, the brother that we know." [caption id="attachment_44154" align="aligncenter" width="992"] Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore[/caption] Kassie Vaughan revealed to ABC News that early this month she received distressing images of her older brother along with a message to get him treatment. According to reports, an unnamed prisoner at Elmore Correctional Center supplied pictures of Kastellio Vaughan hunched over, malnourished, and with a huge, open wound extending down his abdomen. "He said, 'Your brother's not gonna make it until Monday. Please get him help.'...[He said] they brought him back to general population at the prison, they didn't cover up his wounds, and the staples was bursting out of his abdomen," Kassie Vaughan told ABC News. [caption id="attachment_44155" align="aligncenter" width="786"] Kastellio Vaughan holds his newborn sisters Kassie and Kascie Vaughan.[/caption] According to the prisoner who submitted the pictures, Kastellio Vaughan was weak and vomiting on August 30 after being released to Elmore's general population. According to his sisters, Kastellio Vaughan underwent surgery on the same day to have a portion of his small intestine removed owing to complications from a previous gunshot wound. They claim that prior to seeing the pictures, they were unaware that their brother had undergone a treatment. According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, Kastellio Vaughan was moved last Friday to the Staton Correctional Facility's Medical Observation Unit. After being transferred to Staton Correctional, Kastellio Vaughan was seen walking and eating, according to prison officials, and he had been in contact with his family.

"He has been in contact with his family to update them on his situation and ease their concerns," the department said in a statement about Vaughan's condition on Friday. "Inmate Vaughan has requested and received medical attention with the ADOC at least 11 times between July 30, 2022, and September 22, 2022. As a result, each time he received appropriate medical treatment and/or care."

"The ADOC offers a constitutional level care to all inmates," its statement continued. "However, inmates are not required to undergo care, just as citizens in the civilian world are afforded choice of whether to receive care."