Second former Walker Co. correctional officer agrees to plead guilty in Tony Mitchell's death
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Just one day after her former coworker appeared in court, a second corrections officer of the Walker County jail has agreed to plead guilty in the 2023 death of inmate Anthony "Tony" Mitchell.
In a plea agreement filed Tuesday, Karen Kelly agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of deprivation of rights under color of law. The document states that she was fully aware of the "harsh" and "inhumane" conditions that Mitchell was being held in but stayed mostly silent out of fear of retaliation from the jail's command staff.
According to the plea, Mitchell was arrested on Jan. 12, 2023, after he allegedly fired a gun at deputies who had arrived at his property to perform a mental health welfare check.
Upon arriving at the jail, Mitchell reportedly "could not walk or stand on his own" and was "disoriented, non-combative, and could not follow instructions."
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He was housed in cell BK5, commonly referred to as "the drunk tank."
"BK5 depended on officers to escort them to a toilet or shower and relied on officers to bring them food and water," the plea agreement states. "BK5 was notoriously cold during winter months and the temperature on the bare cement floor was even colder."
Kelly was reportedly informed that Mitchell was being held in BK5 because he was on suicide watch, but she never actually saw any documentation to prove that. Additionally, she never noticed jail staff take any precautions to prevent self-harm, "such as providing mental health treatment."
In her plea, Kelly stated that Mitchell's cell was often filled with "feces and old food and garbage," and on one occasion, she was allegedly berated after arranging for it to be cleaned, a lieutenant telling her that he "intended the cell to remain filthy and filled with garbage."
"Even in those rare instances that Individual # 1 was provided with a shower, she [Kelly] was not permitted to provide a towel or other fabric for Individual #1 to dry off before he returned nude to BK5 and its cold temperatures, a result defendant Kelly describes as "inhumane," the plea states. "Based on the totality of the circumstances, defendant KELLY believed that the Jail command staff was purposefully keeping Individual # 1 in inhumane conditions."
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Following Mitchell's death, Kelly leaked a video to the public of "employees of the sheriff鈥檚 office carrying Mitchell in an obvious state of unconsciousness or near death and shoving his limp body into a prisoner transport vehicle, a non-medical police unit," according to a lawsuit she filed against the Walker County Sheriff's Office.
On Feb. 10, 2023, Kelly was fired, allegedly over the leaking of the video, which led to the filing of the aforementioned lawsuit.
"My client has accepted full responsibility for her minimal role in this tragic death," said Brett Bloomson, Kelly's attorney. "The culture of the Walker County jail was such that she could do little to help this inmate without fear of reprisal. She sincerely hopes that this tragedy leads to new policies and procedures to protect those who are housed in the jail."
Kelly faces up to a year in jail.