Prison guard to plead guilty in case involving inmate’s death from freezing

A former corrections officer at an Alabama jail is set to plead guilty to a criminal charge in connection with the death of a mentally ill man who passed away due to hypothermia after being kept naked in a concrete cell for two weeks. According to federal court records, Joshua Conner Jones reached a plea agreement with prosecutors regarding the mistreatment of two inmates at the Walker County jail. Jones is expected to plead guilty to a count of conspiracy to violate an inmate’s rights in relation to Tony Mitchell’s death in 2023 and a separate count concerning the assault of another inmate.

The plea agreement indicates that there were five individuals involved in the mistreatment that led to Mitchell’s death, hinting at the possibility of more individuals facing charges as the investigation continues. Jones’ defense attorney, W. Scott Brower, refrained from commenting on the agreement, while court documents did not specify the deceased inmate’s name. However, Brower confirmed that the charge was linked to the death of Mitchell in 2023. The U.S. attorney’s office has not responded to requests for comment.

Mitchell, aged 33, passed away on January 26, 2023, after being taken from the jail to a hospital with a body temperature of 72 degrees (22 degrees Celsius), as per a lawsuit filed by his mother. The plea agreement described Mitchell’s distressing conditions, noting that he was frequently naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on a cement floor without any bedding. By the second week of his confinement, he was described as largely unresponsive, yet the conspirators failed to intervene to ease his suffering.

Prosecutors stated in the plea agreement that Jones acknowledged, “collectively we did it. We killed him.” Attorney Jon C. Goldfarb, representing Mitchell’s family in a civil lawsuit, expressed the family’s shock upon learning the specifics of what happened to Mitchell.

Mitchell, who had a history of drug addiction, was arrested on January 12 after concerns were raised by a cousin about his mental health. The Walker County sheriff’s office reported that Mitchell, with his face painted black, had allegedly brandished a handgun and fired at deputies before fleeing into the woods.

In the plea agreement, prosecutors mentioned that when Mitchell’s worsening condition was brought up, the co-conspirators reportedly responded with remarks like “he gets what he gets since he shot at cops.”