Alabama deputies indicted on charges of assaulting man who later died of hypothermia in jail

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Two Alabama sheriff’s deputies were indicted in February on charges of using excessive force against a man who later died of sepsis and hypothermia in a local jail, according to a court filings made public on Tuesday.

A federal grand jury indicted Walker County sheriff’s deputies Carl Carpenter and James Handley with felony deprivation of rights for allegedly assaulting Tony Mitchell in 2023, who died two weeks later when he was detained in a concrete cell covered in feces with no toilet or access to medical attention. At least 10 jail employees have pleaded guilty to charges related to the death of the 33-year-old.

The two sheriff’s deputies arrested Mitchell on Jan. 12, 2023, after a relative asked for a welfare check on him. The sheriff’s office said at the time that Mitchell was talking about portals to hell and asserted that he had fired a weapon at officers.

One deputy is accused of stepping on Mitchell while he was handcuffed until he couldn’t walk. Then both deputies allegedly dragged Mitchell on the ground and slammed him onto the police car. One deputy is accused of also accused of witness tampering for allegedly lying to a grand jury about the incident.

Neither Carpenter nor Handley is accused of inflicting injuries that directly contributed to Mitchell’s death.

Plea documents in the 10 other cases have detailed a local law enforcement culture that rewarded officers who abused incarcerated people, including Mitchell. One plea document said that officers intentionally kept the conditions in a local Alabama jail “as filthy as possible” to convince county commissioners to increase salaries and the budget of the jail.

The deputies indicted on Tuesday are the first Walker County Sheriff’s Office employees charged who were not assigned to work in the jail. Both deputies have arraignment dates set for March.

No lawyers were listed in court documents for either deputy. The sheriff’s office did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.

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Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE
Associated Press/Report For America