A 25-year-old man accused of strangling his cellmate at the Shelby County Jail last year has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing.

Stephen Robinson, who was charged with killing Marcus Donald, 38, in November 2022, also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in another killing. 

Robinson was arrested on April 16, 2022, for fatally stabbing a man, Detrick Hammer, whom he believed stole his car, according to an affidavit.

Second inmate death lawsuit filed against Bonner, chief jailer and county

Shelby County Criminal Court Division 4 Judge Carolyn Blackett sentenced him to life with the possibility of parole in the Hammer case and to 25 years for Donald’s killing. Robinson will serve the sentences concurrently.

Donald’s family is suing Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., Chief Jailer Kirk Fields and Shelby County government in federal court over his death.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, Nov. 17, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, says the family is seeking “no less than $75 million.”

It alleges that the jail has an “unwritten rule” of keeping inmates in custody longer than necessary, even after they have been declared eligible for release.

Donald was set to be released Nov. 17, 2022, the day Robinson strangled him, according to the suit.

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He was in custody for aggravated assault. He had pleaded guilty, was given a time-served sentence of five months and was scheduled for release, according to court records.

After he pleaded in court, instead of being released immediately, Donald was taken back to the jail for processing and transferred into a cell with Robinson.

Sometime between 10:45 p.m. Nov. 17 and 12:23 a.m Nov. 18, the two began arguing and fighting, according to the lawsuit.

Donald was located unresponsive at 12:23 a.m. The lawsuit says he was taken to the hospital where he was declared brain-dead six days later.