Third Walker County Jail officer pleads guilty in wake of Anthony ‘Tony’ Mitchell’s death

WALKER COUNTY, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Another correctional officer at the Walker County Jail has pleaded guilty to depriving an inmate of his human rights just hours before he died.

Bailey Ganey, who worked at the jail for two years, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deprivation of rights following the death of Anthony “Tony” Mitchell , who died at a nearby hospital on January 26, 2023, just hours after losing consciousness following what his family and lawyers claim was cruel treatment at the jail.

In August, former correctional officer Joshua Conner Jones also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deprivation of rights. Another officer, Karen Kelly , also pleaded guilty to the same charge, but was the one who had leaked surveillance footage of Mitchell being carried to a car by officers. Kelly had sued the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for firing her after she shared the video with media.

In his plea agreement, Jones said he and five other co-defendants had neglected the 33-year-old Mitchell, which led to his death from hypothermia, sepsis, and “medical neglect.”

“Collectively we did it,” Jones said in his plea agreement. “We killed him.”

In his own plea agreement, Ganey acknowledged that Mitchell had suffered cruel treatment at the jail.

“He didn’t see Individual # 1 being violent or combative. Instead, he saw Individual # l deteriorate physically over the course of his two-week incarceration, appearing less active and making fewer noises,” Ganey wrote in his plea agreement. “He was also aware of the fact that his CO-CONSPIRATORS were falsely claimed that Individual #1 was too combative to receive medical care, thereby preventing medical and mental health professionals from evaluating Individual #1’s needs, Moreover, in an effort to ingratiate himself with his supervisors, he did not make any effort to obtain medical or mental health care for Individual #1, despite the demonstrated needs for such services.”

Ganey added that the night before Mitchell died, he had seen him lying on the floor of his cell, unresponsive and only able to “raise his head and mutter incoherently.”

Mitchell’s family is suing the jail and the Walker County Sheriff’s Office over his death.

Ganey, who was sworn in as a Walker County deputy last August, was 22 years old when Mitchell died. He is facing between 10 years to life in prison.

The full plea agreement can be read here.

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