In the winter of 2023, a 33-year-old man named Anthony Don Mitchell, a white male, died while in the custody of the Walker County Jail in Jasper, Alabama. His death, which the coroner ruled a homicide, was caused by hypothermia and sepsis resulting from infected injuries he sustained during his incarceration. Mitchell’s ordeal began on January 12, 2023, when a family member, concerned for his mental state, requested a welfare check.
At the time of his arrest, the sheriff's office stated that Mitchell had fired at least one shot at deputies. He was then taken into custody.
Over the next two weeks, Mitchell was held in what has been described as a bare concrete isolation cell, essentially a cement box with a drain in the floor. He was often naked, wet, and cold, lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket and covered in feces. Despite his deteriorating condition and obvious need for medical and mental health services, he was denied adequate care. In fact, jail staff allegedly created these horrific conditions intentionally to manipulate local officials for more funding. On the morning of January 26, 2023, a nurse warned jail supervisors that Mitchell urgently needed to be hospitalized, but there was a delay of over three hours before he was transported to the hospital in the back of a patrol car. By the time he arrived at Walker Baptist Medical Center, his internal body temperature was a dangerously low 72 degrees. Medical staff tried for three hours to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances of Mitchell's death sparked a federal investigation and led to numerous legal actions. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, and a confidential settlement was reached with several defendants, including the Walker County Sheriff. The case against the medical staff, however, is proceeding. Multiple former Walker County corrections officers and medical personnel have faced federal charges, including deprivation of rights. A number of these individuals have pleaded guilty. One former officer admitted that they 'collectively... killed him' and revealed that some officers believed Mitchell 'gets what he gets since he shot at cops.' Another former officer's plea deal exposed a scheme to use Mitchell's suffering as a 'prop' to secure more jail funding. Federal indictments were also brought against two Walker County sheriff's deputies who worked outside the jail, one of whom was a captain. Ten former jail employees and five medical staff workers have pleaded not guilty to federal charges. The investigation and legal proceedings continue to unfold.
