He covered his face with a t-shirt before the attack, but jail surveillance cameras still caught what he couldn’t hide: a black band on his left wrist and pants tied into a scrunch. Those details helped prosecutors identify Brandon Carnell Willis as the man who stabbed a fellow inmate multiple times inside the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center. On October 13, Willis pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault and Possession of Prohibited Items by Inmates and was sentenced to 25 years, with 12 years to serve, under the First Offender Act.
The attack happened on August 23, 2023, while Willis and the victim were both housed at the jail. Surveillance footage shows Willis walking through the cell hall, then entering a cell out of camera view and emerging with his face covered. Cameras captured him stabbing the victim with a homemade weapon, then pushing him into the shower area. The victim was seen in the cell hall badly injured before he lost consciousness.
Deputies responded and the victim was taken to the hospital, where he recovered. Before he was transported, he told a deputy that Willis had stabbed him. The jail’s surveillance footage corroborated that identification.
“Everyone in a jail, whether they are held there or work there, has the right to be safe,” said District Attorney Anita R. Howard. “This defendant tried to hide his identity, and the evidence left no doubt about who was responsible. Being in custody does not put anyone beyond accountability, and this sentence reflects that.”
Willis was in the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center at the time of this incident for aggravated assault charges on a matter that occurred on June 5, 2023. That case and others remain pending.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney M. Kamran Zahid.
