Alabama jailers to plead guilty for failing to help an inmate who froze to death
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Two former corrections officers at an Alabama prison agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges in the death of a man who froze to death after being held naked in a concrete cell for two weeks.
Federal court records filed Monday show Heather Lasha Craig has agreed to plead guilty to deprivation of rights under the color of law, while Bailey Clark Ganey has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit a depriving a prisoner of his rights.
Both Craig and Ganey were correctional officers at the Walker County Jail when Tony Mitchell, 33, died of hypothermia and sepsis after being held in a cold, concrete cell without immediate access to a toilet, running water or bedding.
Former correctional officer Joshua Jones pleaded guilty in September on related costs, and Karen Kelly agreed to plead guilty in August for her “minimal role” in Mitchell’s death.
Mitchell was arrested on January 12 after a family member noticed he was in a mental health crisis and asked emergency services to check on him. After police arrived, Mitchell brandished a gun and fired at least one shot at deputies, according to a statement provided by the Walker County Sheriff’s Office at the time.
For nearly two weeks, Mitchell was held in a booking cell described in plea agreements as “essentially a cement box” that was “notoriously cold during the winter months.” During Mitchell’s incarceration, temperatures in Walker County occasionally dropped below freezing.
Previous court documents described Mitchell as “almost always naked, wet, cold and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket.” Ultimately, he became largely unresponsive to officers.
Craig had noted that Mitchell’s condition “would ultimately result in serious injury or even death” without medical intervention, according to her plea agreement. She did not express her concerns because she did not want to be labeled a “traitor” or face retaliation, the court document said.
Ganey checked on Mitchell the night before he died and found him “lying mostly unconscious on the ground,” according to his plea agreement. Mitchell “didn’t take any steps to help him” because he didn’t want to hurt his own future employment prospects.
Hours after Ganey last observed Mitchell, nurses at the facility said Mitchell needed urgent medical attention and he was taken to a hospital, according to an earlier plea document. According to his death certificate, he died shortly afterwards of hypothermia and sepsis. Mitchell’s core body temperature had dropped to 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius).
Erica Williamson Barnes, Ganey’s attorney, emphasized that her client was in his early 20s when Mitchell died, had “little formal education” and that “his training consisted largely of hands-on instruction received from senior prison staff.”
An attorney for Craig declined to comment.
Both suspects were expected to be arraigned at the end of October.
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Riddle is a staff member of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.