MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama sheriff’s deputy is set to admit to assaulting a man experiencing a mental health crisis who subsequently died of sepsis and hypothermia in the local jail, as revealed in court documents made public on Tuesday.
This plea agreement highlights recent reports exposing the pervasive abuse culture within the Walker County Sheriff’s Department, situated in the rural northern part of Alabama.
Carl Lofton Carpenter, aged 55, has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of deprivation of rights. He, alongside fellow Deputy James Handley, arrested Tony Mitchell in 2023. Tragically, Mitchell passed away in the Walker County jail merely two weeks post-arrest, after being held in a concrete cell smeared with feces, deprived of a toilet, and without access to medical care.
According to the plea document, Carpenter physically mistreated Mitchell, even stepping on his genitals while he was handcuffed, remarking, “This is how we treat seizures in Walker County.” Carpenter further dragged him across the ground, kicked him, and forcefully placed him into a police vehicle.
The document states that Mitchell complied, followed commands, and posed no threat, yet Carpenter continued to assault him. It also describes Carpenter’s actions as being in line with the harmful practices customary at the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrest occurred when deputies responded to a welfare check request from a relative at Mitchell’s home. Reports at the time indicated Mitchell spoke of portals to hell and allegedly discharged a firearm at officers.
Court documents also assign responsibility to Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith for directing Mitchell to the jail where he would die, despite clear manifestations of severe mental illness.
In addition to Carpenter, over 10 jail employees have pled guilty to charges related to Mitchell’s death. Attempts to reach Smith and attorneys for both Carpenter and Handley for comment on Tuesday evening went unanswered.
Ongoing investigations have revealed distressing accounts of the conditions leading up to Mitchell’s death. A disclosed plea deal in January showed deliberate neglect of jail conditions in an attempt to persuade county commissioners to increase funding for salaries and the jail’s budget.
Meeting records from Walker County confirmed that a county commissioner visited the jail two weeks after Mitchell’s demise.
Carpenter risks facing a decade-long prison sentence and a fine reaching $250,000. Meanwhile, Handley was indicted in March on charges linked to Mitchell’s assault and witness tampering for allegedly providing false testimony to a separate grand jury in August.