2nd Walker County correctional officer agrees to plead guilty in death of ‘Tony’ Mitchell

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Another correctional officer has agreed to plead guilty in the case surrounding the death of an inmate at the Walker County Jail last year.

According to court documents, Karen Kelly has agreed to plead guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, admitting that she willfully deprived the rights of Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, who died on January 26, 2023, hours after losing consciousness at the jail following alleged abuse he suffered at the jail.

In a lawsuit filed following his death, Mitchell’s family claimed that he was consistently mistreated by officers , and placed in a frigid climate for extended periods of time without food or water.

Following Mitchell’s death, the Walker County Sheriff’s Office had maintained that he was “ alert and conscious ” when he was taken from the jail to a nearby hospital for treatment. However, footage released by Kelly to local media showed Mitchell unconscious and being carried by his jumpsuit by officers.

In her plea, Kelly claimed that during his stay, Mitchell was housed naked, and forced to lied on a bare, cement floor without a mat or blanket. She also claimed that she had been told that Mitchell was on suicide watch, but was never given an evidence to that effect.

“Moreover, Individual #1 was barely communicative, appeared not to be lucid much of the time, and appeared to be suffering from significant mental illness even to those without medical or mental health training,” Kelly said in her plea. “As such, Kelly believed he wasn’t capable of effectively describing his needs or discomfort that ordinarily would have been associated with conditions of confinement in which he was maintained.”

Kelly said she had expressed her concerns about Mitchell’s condition to her supervisor, but that they were ignored.

Prior to her plea, Kelly had sued the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for being fired after she shared surveillance footage of Mitchell in the hours before his death.

Earlier this month, former correctional officer Joshua Conner Jones agreed to plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights under color of law.

Kelly is facing up to a year in prison.

This story will be updated.

Kelly’s full plea can be read here.

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