Alabama jailers to plead guilty for failing to help an inmate who froze to death

[October 10, 2024]  By SAFIYAH RIDDLE

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Two former corrections officers at an Alabama jail 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 deprive an inmate of their rights.

Both Craig and Ganey were correctional officers at the Walker County Jail when Tony Mitchell, 33, died from hypothermia and sepsis after being kept in a cold, concrete cell, without immediate access to a toilet, running water or bedding.

Former correctional officer Joshua Jones pleaded guilty in September to related charges, and Karen Kelly agreed to plead guilty in August for her “minimal role” in Mitchell's death.

Mitchell was arrested Jan. 12 after a family member noticed he appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis and asked emergency responders to check on him. After law enforcement arrived, Mitchell brandished a handgun and fired at least one shot at deputies, according to a statement made by the Walker County sheriff’s office at the time.

For nearly two weeks, Mitchell was held in a booking cell described in the plea agreements as “essentially a cement box” that “was notoriously cold during winter months." Temperatures occasionally fell below freezing in Walker County during Mitchell's incarceration.

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.” Eventually, he became mostly unresponsive to officers.

Craig had observed that Mitchell’s condition “would ultimately result in serious harm or even death” without medical intervention, according to her plea deal. She did not raise her concerns because she did not want to be labeled a “snitch” or suffer retaliation, the court document said.

Ganey checked on Mitchell the night before he died and found him lying “largely unresponsive on the floor,” according to his plea deal. Mitchell “took no steps to aid him” because he didn’t want to hurt his own future employment opportunities.

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 a previous plea document. He died of hypothermia and sepsis shortly after, according to his death certificate. Mitchell’s core body temperature had plummeted 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 largely consisted of on the job instruction he received from more senior jail staff.”

An attorney for Craig declined to comment.

Both defendants were set to be arraigned in late October.

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Riddle is a corps member for 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.

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