A man serving a life sentence for murder died Tuesday in an Alabama prison infirmary.

Randy L. Matkins, 68, was found unresponsive at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday by medical staff at William Donaldson Correctional Facility, according to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

He was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said Matkins was being treated for significant natural disease. There was no evidence of trauma or foul play found in his death.

Matkins was convicted in Madison County in 1986 in the murder of James Willie Askins Jr. He was sentenced to life without prison under the state’s habitual offender laws.

Matkins had previously been convicted of second-degree murder in 1977.

See Full Page