CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A grieving mother is looking for answers in the January loss of her son to cancer, after records from the medical examiner show medical neglect contributed to his death while he was an inmate in Clayton County.
Tracie Emerson told 11Alive her son was diagnosed with testicular cancer while he was in custody, but she was not aware before his death. She said 35-year-old Alan Willison Jr. complained several times that no one was helping him inside the jail.
Willison, according to his mother, had been in jail since October 2022 for third-degree forgery but never went to trial "to prove his innocence."
"I read the report today, and I just believe how much pain and suffering he went through," Emerson said Tuesday, asking later, "How and why didn't somebody call me and let me know that my son was that sick?"
11Alive obtained Willison's Inmate Request History Detail from the medical examiner's office, and it shows he asked for medical attention relating to pain on Nov. 23, 2022. Documents show Tylenol was ordered.
He complained of pain on several other dates, the records indicate. Treatment at times included antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications.
"Something must be very wrong if I'm in excruciating pain every day," Willison said in a December request for help, records show. "I never gone through this until I arrived to this facility. I'm sorry, but something is wrong."
The notes show Willison was eventually referred to a urologist in December 2022 and an appointment was set for Jan. 19, 2023.
His pain continued during the time period he waited.
"I feel like crying, and my pain keeps me from sleeping at night or walking laps or doing exercises," Willison said in a request on Jan. 1, 2023. "I need help."
Georgia Urology saw Willison for his Jan. 19 appointment, and medical records show surgery was recommended.
"He didn't have chemo. He didn't have, you know, any kind of medical anything," Emerson said, adding that the doctor couldn't get anyone from the jail to answer the phone to schedule surgery. "So, therefore, I know that he was just suffering and his body was just deteriorating."
Around 5:18 a.m. on Jan. 26, documents show Willison reported having trouble breathing, and his skin was yellowing or jaundiced.
That morning, the nursing staff was told to keep a close eye on him to monitor his condition.
A jail officer and nurse were assigned to "perform medical round and IV drip" on Willison, but when they opened his cell door, the two found Willison on the floor. The staff made arrangements to get him transported to the hospital, where he died.
That's when Emerson said she first learned her son had stage-four testicular cancer. According to a copy of Willison's death certificate from the state of Georgia, he died from Metastatic testicular carcinoma (testicular cancer) complicated by medical neglect.
In the medical examiner's notes, answering if any significant conditions contributed to Willison's death, they list inadequate and unhygienic living conditions, medical neglect and malnourishment while incarcerated.
Emerson said she isn't sure where to go from now, but added she does believe an investigation into Clayton County's jail is necessary.
"Somebody needs to go to that county jail, and they need to redo -- probably fire everybody and start over," Emerson said, adding that she hopes sharing her son's story will raise awareness and create change for the inmates.
11Alive reached out to the Clayton County Sheriff's Office about Willison's death on Tuesday, but did not hear back.