The William Andrell Thomas Story
"He Didn't Have A Life Sentence!"
My name is Tanisha B. Thomas, and this is my son’s story!
William Andrell Thomas suffered an anoxic brain injury on August 07, 2023 after being found hanging in his solitary confined cell at St. Clair Correctional facility in Alabama.
William was serving a sentence on a parole violation for a drug possession charge in 2018. His initial conviction was a robbery he committed at 17 years old in 2011. He was sentenced to an additional five years after being denied a parole opportunity due to Alabama’s harsh punishment laws in 2019 on a parole violation charge.
At the time, he had placed himself into solitary confinement to be safe from physical abuse that he endured and detoxes from his drug addiction he inherited while incarcerated. He thought isolation was the best thing to do because he wanted to get away from the temptation to use, be safe, and he also did not want to go through the withdrawals publicly.
My family and I called the prison on multiple occasions requesting help and treatment for William. He took it upon himself to isolate himself for the better after the prison denied our request for help. I believe in solitary confinement;
One of the following things happened to him:
1. The detox caused severe hallucination.
2. Someone did this to him.
What happened to William Andrell Thomas?
After he was allegedly found hanging from a light fixture in his cell, he was sent to the hospital in Birmingham Al (UAB), where he was placed on life support and placed into an induced coma. He was given a 1% chance to live.
Miraculously after being taken off life support, he opened his eyes! He was then sent to Noland LTAC hospital after they placed a tracheotomy into his throat for precautionary measures for breathing. Soon after he then began to completely breathe on his own!!!
Because he was recovering so quickly Alabama Department of Corrections requested my son be sent BACK to St. Clair prison to the prison infirmary where he received the bare minimum care.
It is clear the prison didn’t want him to get better because during his time in the infirmary, they tried to starve him to death which caused him to become severely malnourished.
This also caused him to receive multiple bed sores to the point he had to have a medical procedure removing parts of his bottom. The prison would never really inform us on his medical issues but by the GRACE of GOD he held on for 9 months after being treated harshly.
William's Journey
The next step in William’s journey is to receive therapy from the TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. This facility specializes in patients like him who are in a minimally conscious state. The extensive therapy that they provide will train him and us in how to take care of him and give him a better quality of life. Because of his condition, he is unable to travel on the road by vehicle. The drive from where he is currently to Houston is over 10 hours and the health care professionals believe that long rides would be too much on his body. We’ve found a company called Grace on Wings. They provide medical flights as charity for patients like William. They are willing and ready to take him if we purchase the fuel and right now it is estimated to be approximately $17,000 one way. $15,000 is for airplane fuel. $2000 is for ambulance fuel. We are asking for donations to help get William to TIRR! This step is pertinent to his second chance! Please be a blessing! Any amount is welcomed! May the Lord bless you abundantly!
I firmly live by and believe this, "When you ask someone else to help you bear a burden, you are giving them an opportunity to serve God and share Christ’s love with you."