Current:Home > MyJailer agrees to plead guilty in case of inmate who froze to death at jail -Ascend Finance Compass
Jailer agrees to plead guilty in case of inmate who froze to death at jail
View
Date:2025-04-13 06:06:11
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A former corrections officer at an Alabama jail has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge in the death of a mentally ill man who died of hypothermia after being held naked in a concrete cell for two weeks.
Federal court records show that Joshua Conner Jones entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors regarding the treatment of two inmates at the Walker County jail. Jones agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to deprive an inmate of their rights related to the 2023 death of Tony Mitchell. He also pleaded guilty to a separate rights-deprivation count related to the assault of another inmate.
The plea agreement indicated there were five co-conspirators in the mistreatment that led to Mitchell’s death, an indication that the investigation is ongoing and more people could be charged in the death.
A defense lawyer for Jones, W Scott Brower, said he could not comment on the agreement. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
The plea agreement did not name the inmates, but said it involved a man who died Jan. 26, 2023, after being held in a concrete cell at the jail for two weeks. Mitchell, 33, died on Jan. 26 after being brought from the jail to a hospital emergency room with a body temperature of 72 degrees (22 degrees Celsius), according to a lawsuit filed by his mother.
The plea agreement said that the man “was almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket.” By the second week of incarceration, he was “largely listless and mostly unresponsive to questions from officers,” but that the conspirators did not take action to alleviate his suffering.
Prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement that Jones admitted that “collectively we did it. We killed him.”
Jon C. Goldfarb, an attorney representing the family in the civil litigation, said “the family is shocked to see in writing what they knew happened to Tony Mitchell.”
Mitchell, who had a history of drug addiction, was arrested Jan. 12 after a cousin asked authorities to do a welfare check on him because he was rambling about portals to heaven and hell in his home and appeared to be suffering a mental breakdown. The Walker County sheriff’s office posted a photo on its Facebook page, adding that Mitchell, who had his face painted black, “brandished a handgun, and fired at least one shot at deputies” before running into the woods.
Prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement that when Mitchell’s deteriorating condition would be mentioned, the co-conspirators would reply that ” ‘he gets what he gets since he shot at cops’ or words to that effect.”
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Dakota Access Opponents Thinking Bigger, Aim to Halt Entire Pipeline
- 2 horses die less than 24 hours apart at Belmont Park
- Officials kill moose after it wanders onto Connecticut airport grounds
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Hillary Clinton Finally Campaigns on Climate, With Al Gore at Her Side
- You Didn't See It Coming: Long Celebrity Marriages That Didn't Last
- U.S. Navy Tests Boat Powered by Algae
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Treat Yourself to a Spa Day With a $100 Deal on $600 Worth of Products From Elemis, 111SKIN, Nest & More
Ranking
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Hurricane Florence’s Unusual Extremes Worsened by Climate Change
- U.S. Navy Tests Boat Powered by Algae
- Below Deck’s Kate Chastain Response to Ben Robinson’s Engagement Will Put Some Wind in Your Sails
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Video shows 10-foot crocodile pulled from homeowner's pool in Florida
- Today’s Climate: September 20, 2010
- Solar Energy Surging in Italy, Outpacing U.S.
Recommendation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
10 key takeaways from the Trump indictment: What the federal charges allegedly reveal
Rebuilding collapsed portion of I-95 in Philadelphia will take months, Pennsylvania governor says
This is what displaced Somalians want you to know about their humanitarian crisis
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
EPA Agrees Its Emissions Estimates From Flaring May Be Flawed
Bleeding and in pain, she couldn't get 2 Louisiana ERs to answer: Is it a miscarriage?
Bloomberg Is a Climate Leader. So Why Aren’t Activists Excited About a Run for President?