Her son died ‘on a cold floor, next to a commode and begging for help.’

For Donna Dixon, every day since her son’s death has been hard, but when a judge granted an appeal bond to the ex-jail nurse convicted in his killing, it was almost too much for her to bear.

Like so many times before, the wife, mother and grandmother, bent over in her courtroom seat, put her head in her hands and cried. Other relatives tried to console her over the grief her family has felt since the Sept. 24, 2014, death of her diabetic son, William Joel Dixon, at the George County jail.

Dixon wrote a letter asking Special Judge Richard McKenzie to deny ex-jail nurse Carmon Brannan bond while she appeals her July 30 manslaughter conviction for causing Joel Dixon’s death.

Brannan’s attorney argued she wasn’t a flight risk, had no criminal history and submitted 25 letters of support for Brannan, all of which her sister, Chancery Clerk Cammie Brannnan Byrd, notarized.

The judge granted the appeal bond, and last week Brannan was released from prison on the $200,000 bond pending the outcome of her appeal, which could last for up to two years.

Brannan is wearing a GPS tracking device, has to report to corrections officials each week and cannot have any contact with the Dixon family.

‘So much loss’

In her letter, Donna Dixon spelled out how her son’s death has affected her family — from immeasurable grief to harassment and threats, loss of income, and the “mysterious” vandalism of her late-son’s truck during jury selection in Brannan’s first trial.

“Mrs. Brannan did not just allow Joel to die, she allowed Joel to suffer on a cold floor next to a commode,” Donna Dixon wrote. “Joel died begging for help which never arrived. Concerned guards begged Mrs. Brannan to help Joel but she refused to help him. Mrs. Brannan has had four years to live as she pleased. It is finally time for her to be held accountable and serve her sentence just like any other person convicted ”

Donna Dixon pointed out George County grand jury felt there was enough to indict Brannan in the first place and since then “23 or 24 jurors found her guilty, the nursing board revoked her nursing license and, above all, the evidence showed she condemned Joel to suffer to death on a cold floor, next to a commode,and begging for help.”

Since Brannan was charged, Donna Dixon said, she and her family has suffered financial losses and other repercussions in their jobs and elsewhere as a result of Joel’s “needless death.”

In addition, she said she’s personally suffered medically and has repeatedly gone to the hospital emergency room due to chest pains related to anxiety and stress related to her son’s death and the subsequent prosecution.

She and her son’s two children have had to go counseling to try to deal with what happened to Joel Dixon.

The children also find themselves reliving what happened to their father each time their friends ask what happened to him, how he died and why he was in jail, she said.

‘Tactic to retaliate’

Also, Donna Dixon said, her family had to hire an attorney after Brannan filed a defamation lawsuit against her, something she said she believes was nothing more than a “tactic to retaliate against and intimidate me in my family’s pursuit of justice over the death of my son.”

In addition, she said, Brannan’s attorney even subpoenaed the school records for her two grandchildren.

“Joel’s children have been through enough,” she said. “This process has gone on for too long. My family has suffered so much loss and anguish due to Mrs. Brannan,” she wrote. “We have endured four years of pleas, hearings, continuances, change of counsel and two trails.”

Donna Dixon concluded her letter with one final word about the ex-nurse convicted in her son’s killing: “At no time has Mrs. Brannan demonstrated one shred of remorse for the life she took and the harm she has caused,” she wrote.

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 5:00 AM.