Current:Home > StocksAlabama Jailer pleads guilty in case of incarcerated man who froze to death-LoTradeCoin
Alabama Jailer pleads guilty in case of incarcerated man who froze to death
View Date:2024-12-23 23:43:41
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A former corrections officer at an Alabama jail pleaded guilty to criminal charges for his role in the death of a man who died of hypothermia after being held naked in a concrete cell for two weeks.
Joshua Conner Jones pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of criminal conspiracy to deprive an inmate of their rights related to the 2023 death of Tony Mitchell, 33, according to federal court records. Jones also pleaded guilty to a separate rights-deprivation count related to the assault of another unidentified inmate.
The charges against Jones and his intention to plead guilty were announced in July. A second Walker County jailer, Karen Kelly, agreed to plead guilty to related charges shortly after.
Jones is out on bond while he awaits sentencing.
Jones’ plea agreement included three additional unnamed co-conspirators that allegedly contributed to Mitchell’s death, an indication that more people could be charged.
Attorneys for Jones declined to comment.
Mitchell was arrested Jan. 12 after a family member noticed he appeared to be experiencing a mental break down and asked emergency responders to do a welfare 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.
In the two weeks that he was incarcerated, the plea deal describes Mitchell as “almost always naked, wet, cold, and covered in feces while lying on the cement floor without a mat or blanket” and eventually, “listless and mostly unresponsive to questions from officers.”
Instead of getting Mitchell medical treatment, Jones and his co-conspirators said that Mitchell “‘gets what he gets since he shot at cops’ or words to that effect,” according to the plea deal.
On Jan. 26, 2023, corrections officers finally drove Mitchell to a hospital emergency room, according to the plea document, waiting more than three hours after a nurse insisted that he needed urgent medical attention. Mitchell died shortly after. His death certificate listed his cause of death as hypothermia and sepsis from medical neglect.
The plea deal said Jones “admitted that ‘collectively we did it. We killed him.’”
In August, Jon C Goldfarb, an attorney representing Mitchell’s family in the civil litigation, told The Associated Press that “the family is shocked to see in writing what they knew happened to Tony Mitchell.”
veryGood! (16)
Related
- DWTS’ Sasha Farber and Jenn Tran Prove They're Closer Than Ever Amid Romance Rumors
- Supreme Court kills Biden's student debt plan in a setback for millions of borrowers
- What to know about the drug price fight in those TV ads
- Ryan Gosling Gives Eva Mendes a Sweet Shoutout With Barbie Premiere Look
- Early Week 11 fantasy football rankings: 30 risers and fallers
- A stolen Christopher Columbus letter found in Delaware returns to Italy decades later
- Not coming to a screen near you — viewers will soon feel effects of the writers strike
- With Fossil Fuel Companies Facing Pressure to Reduce Carbon Emissions, Private Equity Is Buying Up Their Aging Oil, Gas and Coal Assets
- Wildfire map: Thousands of acres burn near New Jersey-New York border; 1 firefighter dead
- What’s Good for Birds Is Good for People and the Planet. But More Than Half of Bird Species in the U.S. Are in Decline
Ranking
- Georgia public universities and colleges see enrollment rise by 6%
- Amid Rising Emissions, Could Congressional Republicans Help the US Reach Its Climate Targets?
- Cities Are a Big Part of the Climate Problem. They Can Also Be a Big Part of the Solution
- Kelsea Ballerini Shares Insight Into Chase Stokes Romance After S--tstorm Year
- NASCAR Championship race live updates, how to watch: Cup title on the line at Phoenix
- Black-owned radio station may lose license over FCC 'character qualifications' policy
- A Timber Mill Below Mount Shasta Gave Rise to a Historic Black Community, and Likely Sparked the Wildfire That Destroyed It
- Sidestepping a New Climate Commitment, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Greenlights a Mammoth LNG Project in Louisiana
Recommendation
-
Ford agrees to pay up to $165 million penalty to US government for moving too slowly on recalls
-
RFK Jr. is building a presidential campaign around conspiracy theories
-
Sidestepping a New Climate Commitment, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Greenlights a Mammoth LNG Project in Louisiana
-
Oil Companies Are Eying Federal Climate Funds to Expand Hydrogen Production. Will Their Projects Cut Emissions?
-
4 arrested in California car insurance scam: 'Clearly a human in a bear suit'
-
At a Global Conference on Clean Energy, Granholm Announces Billions in Federal Aid for Carbon Capture and Emerging Technology
-
KitchenAid Mixer Flash Deal: Take $180 off During the Amazon Prime Day 2023 Sale
-
Black-owned radio station may lose license over FCC 'character qualifications' policy