Prisoner froze to death in prison freezer in Alabama: mother believes he was tied up and held there by force

A 33-year-old man froze to death in an Alabama jail after being held in a freezer for several hours. The man's mother filed a lawsuit against several prison officials. Writes about it Insider.

Photo: IStock

According to the lawsuit filed by Margaret Mitchell, Anthony Mitchell was pronounced dead on January 26 after spending 14 days in "hellish conditions" at the Walker County Jail. By the time Mitchell was taken to a local hospital, his core body temperature had reached 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22,2 Celsius), and staff spent three hours unsuccessfully trying to resuscitate him.

“In order for Tony’s body temperature to drop to 72 degrees in such a short period of time, it was necessary to place him in the freezer of the prison kitchen or in a similar cold environment and leave it there for several hours,” the document says.

The lawsuit also cites doctor Mitchell's notes stating that he believes the cause of death was hypothermia, and "it's hard to understand how the temperature reached 72°F [22° Celsius] in prison." The average human body temperature is approximately 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36,6 Celsius).

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Lawyers representing Mitchell's mother received surveillance footage from inside the prison. They show the hours after Mitchell was taken out of the freezer and returned to his isolation cell. The lawsuit says the video shows Mitchell lying motionless and naked on a bare cement floor while employees laugh.

Lawyers said they received the video from a corrections officer "who dared to keep a security camera footage on his phone" and wanted Mitchell's family and the public to know what happened to him.

Correctional officer Karen Kelly filed her own lawsuit alleging she was fired in retaliation for her actions.

According to the lawsuit, Mitchell was arrested on January 12 in a "psychotic and delusional state" caused in part by drug use. One of Mitchell's cousins ​​was concerned about his well-being and called 911 to explain that Mitchell had a mental breakdown and probably needed an ambulance.

But the Walker County Sheriff's Office said that when police arrived at the scene, Mitchell brandished a gun and opened fire on them. They arrested Mitchell and placed him in the Walker County Jail on charges of attempted murder.

According to his mother's lawsuit, from January 12 to 26, Mitchell was held in solitary confinement with no bed or anything to sleep on and only a toilet on the floor. Prison officials on January 15, according to documents, took away false teeth from Mitchell, leaving him for more than 10 days without the ability to chew solid food.

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The lawsuit says Mitchell appeared to have been kept completely naked the entire time he was incarcerated and was not given a prison uniform until he was taken to the hospital on January 26.

Prison officials called Mitchell's cousin and said it was "the worst case of addiction we've ever seen" and reported that Mitchell's body temperature had started to drop that morning, so they had to take him to the hospital.

“Based on these circumstances, it appears that Tony was strapped into a special seat on the night of January 25-26 and placed in the prison kitchen freezer or similar cold environment for extended periods of time, possibly as punishment,” reads the statement. lawsuit.

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