Man’s death in frigid jail cell ruled homicide. Two more cops to plead guilty, feds say
A correctional officer was concerned that a man who was housed naked inside a frigid and filthy cell would die without help — and suspected jail nurses were avoiding caring for him, according to new court documents.
But the officer was afraid of being branded as a “snitch” and kept her concerns to herself at the Walker County Jail in Alabama, court documents say.
Heather Lasha Craig also feared her supervisors might retaliate against her if she asked for Anthony “Tony” Mitchell to be transferred out of jail to get the care, prosecutors wrote in court documents filed Oct. 7.
Mitchell, 33, was kept in what was “essentially a cement box” that had no sink, toilet or running water, often lying naked on the bare ground of his cold cell with no blanket or mat for two weeks, according to prosecutors.
He froze to death on Jan. 26, 2023 after visibly deteriorating in front of officers, who are accused of denying him food, water and medical care, a lawsuit filed over his death says. His death was ruled a homicide, McClatchy News previously reported.
Craig and a second correctional officer, Bailey Clark Ganey, were the latest to be criminally charged in Mitchell’s death on Oct. 7, court records show.
Craig has agreed to plead guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law, and Ganey has pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights, according to their plea agreements.
Craig’s court-appointed defense attorney, Kenneth John Gomany, declined McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 9.
Ganey, who had worked at the jail for two years by the time Mitchell was incarcerated, believed Mitchell should’ve been taken to a hospital or mental health facility instead of jail, according to prosecutors. Mitchell was arrested during a mental health welfare check at his home on Jan. 12, 2023 when Mitchell reportedly fired a gun as Walker County sheriff’s deputies were on his property, prosecutors wrote in court filings.
Despite Ganey’s belief, he and other officers showed “hostility” and “indifference to (Mitchell’s) well-being” when he was booked in jail, saying “he should have been killed,” according to prosecutors.
Mitchell struggled to walk and stand by himself when he arrived at jail and was “disoriented, non-combative, and could not follow instructions,” prosecutors wrote.
Ganey watched as Mitchell deteriorated in his cell and “recognized that the conditions in which (Mitchell) was housed were cruel and without justification,” his plea agreement says.
Ganey’s defense attorney, Erica Williamson Barnes, told McClatchy News that Ganey “was in his early 20s with little formal education or training in law enforcement” when Mitchell was incarcerated.
He “regrets the conditions in which Tony Mitchell was held and the role he and many others played in allowing those conditions,” Barnes said in an emailed statement Oct. 9.
Ganey also “hopes that by taking responsibility for his actions and admitting that he and others deprived Tony Mitchell of his rights, he can bring some peace to Tony Mitchell’s family and the community and assist the United States in resolving this matter,” Barnes added.
Other officers charged in Mitchell’s death
The first officer to agree to plead guilty in Mitchell’s death was Joshua Conner Jones, court records from July 31 show, McClatchy News previously reported.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against rights in Mitchell’s death and to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law in connection with beating another inmate with a can of chemical spray on Sept. 24, according to court records.
“Collectively we did it. We killed him,” Jones said of Mitchell, prosecutors wrote in his plea agreement.
Jones’ defense attorney, W. Scott Brower, told McClatchy News on Aug. 2 that Jones has accepted responsibility.
Brower said he expected this was “the tip of the iceberg” and that several others would be charged “for the death of Mr. Mitchell as a result of the actions or inaction of employees of the Walker County Sheriff’s office.”
On Aug. 13, a second officer, Karen Kim Elsie Kelly, agreed to plead guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law in connection with Mitchell’s death, court records show.
Kelly worked seven shifts while Mitchell was incarcerated and made no effort, along with other officers, to get him medical help, according to her plea agreement.
Jones and three other officers denied him care and lied to medical staff, saying Mitchell “was too combative to be evaluated, when in truth that was not the case,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
Her defense attorney, Brett M. Bloomston, told McClatchy News Oct. 9 that Kelly “has accepted full responsibility for her minimal role in this tragic death.”
“The culture of the Walker County Jail was such that she could do little to help this inmate without fear of reprisal,” Bloomston said in a statement.
“She sincerely hopes that this tragedy leads to new policies and procedures to protect those who are housed in the jail,” Bloomston added.
The sheriff’s office, which runs the Walker County Jail, didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Oct. 9.
After two weeks of neglect in jail, Mitchell was taken to a hospital, went into cardiac arrest when he arrived and died, according to prosecutors.
“Emergency personnel documented his core body temperature as 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature incompatible with life,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
A death certificate obtained by Mitchell’s family in February says he died of hypothermia and “sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Man’s death in frigid jail cell ruled homicide. Two more cops to plead guilty, feds say."
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