FIRST IN FOX – A history of disturbing complaints filed against an Alabama jail is emerging after an inmate reportedly froze to death while restrained in a cold room in January.
Walker County Jail Officers allegedly placed 33-year-old Anthony “Tony” Mitchell “in a restraint chair in the jail kitchen refrigerated room or similar icy appliance and left him [him] there for hours,” possibly “as punishment for deputies who ‘had some time with Tony,'” according to a federal complaint filed this week against the Walker County Sheriff’s Office and jail staff.
He died on January 26.
Mitchell’s lawyers called his death “one of the most appalling cases of prison abuse the country has seen.”
ALABAMA MAN FROZEN TO DEATH IN JAIL AFTER OFFICERS PUT HIM IN FREEZER AS POSSIBLE ‘PUNISHMENT’, LAWSUIT ALLEGES
![Walker County Jail officials allegedly placed Anthony "tonio" Michael, 33, "in a restraint chair in the prison kitchen cold room or similar icy appliance and to the left [him] there for hours" which led to his death on January 26, according to the complaint.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%200%200'%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Walker County Jail officials allegedly placed 33-year-old Anthony “Tony” Mitchell “in a restraint chair in the jail kitchen refrigerator or similar application and left him [him] there for hours,” leading to his death on January 26, according to the complaint. (Attorney Jon Goldfarb)
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office said it would not comment at this time.
A source familiar with the jail told Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity that Mitchell’s case, while “horrific,” is “just the tip of the iceberg of problems with the Walker County Sheriff’s Department.”
“There have been other jail deaths due to negligence/denial of medical care and allegations of abuse,” the source said.
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In one example from 2020, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the estate of the late Autumn Nichole Harris after she apparently died of acute bilateral bronchopneumonia on December 5, 2018, when she was 34 years old.
In one example from 2020, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the estate of the late Autumn Nichole Harris after she apparently died of acute bilateral bronchopneumonia on December 5, 2018, when she was 34 years old. (Facebook)
“During the days leading up to her death, Autumn displayed signs and symptoms of overt physical distress. For example: Autumn lay on the floor all day (physically unable to sit, stand, or walk for a significant amount of time) , urinated and defecated over herself frequently, her breathing was extremely labored, marked by loud and abnormal sounds (eg, grunting, wheezing, etc.), she was unable to eat or drink a significant amount of fluids, she had hallucinations ; etc,” the complaint says.
Both Harris and other inmates called for help, but “none” of the jail’s health care providers called an ambulance for Autumn or treated her, which reportedly led to her death.
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In 2018, inmate Deonte Marquise Williams filed a lawsuit against Walker County officials, alleging that he was abused by a corrections officer for no apparent justifiable reason.
The complaint says that on April 26, 2018, two inmates in the Williams jail dormitory got into a fight and a corrections officer locked the inmates in their dormitories after no one said who was responsible.
Numerous complaints have been filed against Walker County officials alleging abusive jail conditions since 2013. (Google Maps)
Williams told the officer that it was unfair to lock up inmates who were not involved in the fight, at which point the officer allegedly ordered Williams out of his cell and then pepper-sprayed and beat him. The officer then apparently placed Williams in solitary confinement for six days without notice.
In 2015, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Walker County officials on behalf of the estate of the late Eddie Joe Gann. Gann was incarcerated in the Walker County Jail when he died on May 20, 2013.
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The lawsuit alleges that jail officials failed to transport Gann to a hospital when, after “after strenuous exercise,” he “lost consciousness, stopped breathing, had no pulse, and was unresponsive.” Gann then regained consciousness shortly thereafter and vomited, but was apparently not transported to a hospital for treatment. He eventually died in his cell, the complaint says.
Mitchell’s attorneys allege the 33-year-old “languished naked and dying of hypothermia in the early morning hours of January 26 and her chances of survival were gone” as “numerous correctional officers and medical personnel came to her open cell door to observe and entertain her condition.”
Mitchell’s mother, Maragret Mitchell, filed the lawsuit against Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, 10 corrections officers, two nurses and an investigator. (Attorney Jon Goldfarb)
Mitchell’s body temperature was reportedly 72 degrees when jail officials loaded him into a sheriff’s vehicle on the morning of Jan. 26 and took him to the hospital rather than call an ambulance, according to the lawsuit.
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The doctor who examined Mitchell wrote: “I am not sure of the circumstances in which the patient was incarcerated, but it is difficult to understand a rectal temperature of 72°F 22°C while someone is incarcerated. The cause of his hypothermia was not “It’s clear. It’s possible he had an underlying medical condition that resulted in hypothermia. I don’t know if he could have been exposed to a cold environment. I believe the hypothermia was the ultimate cause of death.”
The lawsuit alleges that Walker County authorities violated Mitchell’s civil rights and ultimately ended his life by “training, retraining, instructing, supervising, [and] discipline” prison officers.
