Alabama prison guards plead guilty for failing to help a frozen inmate

Federal court documents filed Monday show that Heather Lasha Craig has agreed to plead guilty to deprivation of rights under the pretext of the law, while Bailey Clark Ganey has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conspiracy to deprive an inmate of his rights to withdraw.

Both Craig and Ganey were correctional officers at the Walker County Jail when 33-year-old Tony Mitchell died of hypothermia and sepsis after being held in a cold concrete cell with no immediate access to a toilet, running water or bedding.

Former corrections officer Joshua Jones pleaded guilty in September, and Karen Kelly agreed to plead guilty in August for her “minor role” in Mitchell’s death.

Mitchell was arrested Jan. 12 after a family member noticed he appeared to be in a mental health crisis and asked emergency responders to check on him. When police arrived, Mitchell brandished a handgun and fired at least one shot at the officers, according to a Walker County Sheriff’s Office statement at the time.

For nearly two weeks, Mitchell was held in a cell described in the plea agreement as “essentially a cement box” and “notoriously cold during the winter months.” During Mitchell’s incarceration, temperatures in Walker County occasionally fell 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.” Eventually, he became largely unresponsive to officers.

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

Ganey checked on Mitchell the night before his death and found him “lying on the floor largely unresponsive,” according to his plea agreement. Mitchell “did not take steps to assist” because he did not want to jeopardize 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 a previous plea document. According to his death certificate, he died shortly afterwards from hypothermia and sepsis. Mitchell’s core body temperature had dropped to 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 education consisted largely of job-related instruction he received from higher-ranking prison staff.”

An attorney for Craig declined to comment.

Both defendants were scheduled to be arraigned at the end of October.