A man with mental illness who died of hypothermia after being detained nude in a concrete cell for two weeks has found posthumous justice through the guilty plea of a former correctional officer at an Alabama prison.
The officer, Joshua Conner Jones, agreed to plead guilty to charges related to his handling of two inmates at the Walker County Jail.
Inmate Tony Mitchell died in 2023 as a result of maltreatment; the plea deal named five co-conspirators in this case, suggesting that the investigation into his death is continuing and that further charges may be filed in the future.
Although the names of the prisoners were redacted from the plea deal, it was mentioned that a man had died on January 26, 2023, following two weeks of solitary confinement in a concrete cell at the prison. A case was filed by Mitchell’s mother, who stated that her son, who was 33 years old, passed away after being transferred from the jail to the emergency room of a hospital while having a body temperature of 72F (22C).
According to the plea bargain records, the inmate was nearly always naked, damp, chilled, and lying in excrement on the concrete floor without a mat or blanket. He had become mostly unresponsive to questions from officers during the second week of his imprisonment, but the conspirators still did nothing to help him.
Jones acknowledged in his plea deal that “collectively” they did it. They “ended his life.”
After a cousin requested authorities to do a welfare check on Mitchell on January 12, citing his apparent mental breakdown and his ramblings about gates to heaven and hell, the man was detained. Mitchell had a history of drug use. Mitchell brandished a handgun and fired at least one shot at deputies before fleeing into the woods.
The co-conspirators would respond to mentions of Mitchell’s worsening health by mentioning he was getting what he deserved for shooting at the police.
When asked about the circumstances surrounding Mitchell’s death, Jones admitted guilt on a single count of conspiring to deny an inmate their rights. He entered a guilty plea on an additional count of rights deprivation pertaining to the attack on another prisoner.
