Louisiana Prisoner’s Mother Sues Warden Following Son’s Death
On November 5, 2024, Cornelius Kelly, 39, a prisoner at the Dixon Correctional Institute (DCI) in East Faliciana Parish, was fatally stabbed three times in the chest and abdomen by another prisoner in the facility’s yard. According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his mother, Joyce Kelly, on the day before the murder, Kelly had an altercation with prisoners Taylor Williams, Terrell Holmes, Arsenio Wells, and Joseph Constance; two of these individuals later led Kelly outside, where he was killed by Constance.
The lawsuit claims that DCI warden E. Dustin Bickham, along with the guards who work for him, knew or should have known that Kelly faced substantial risk of being “assaulted, battered, and/or potentially killed.” As a result, the lawsuit argues, Kelly should have been placed in protective segregation and removed from the prison’s general population; failing to do so amounted to deliberate indifference to Kelly’s safety on behalf of the prison’s staff.
Filed on November 4, 2025, the lawsuit also alleges that Bickham failed to train and supervise his guards to protect prisoners from violations of their constitutional rights under the eighth and fourteenth amendments. PLN will continue to follow this case and cover future developments. See: Kelly v. Bickham, USDC (M.D. La.), Case No. 3:2025cv01014.
Additional sources: The Advocate, WBRZ 2
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
Related legal case
Kelly v. Bickham
| Year | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (M.D. La.), Case No. 3:2025cv01014 |
| Level | District Court |