Alabama

Alabama man jailed in ‘the freezer’ died of homicide due to hypothermia, records show

Published

2 years ago

March 4, 2024

Alabama man jailed in ‘the freezer’ died of homicide due to hypothermia, records show

An Alabama inmate with “serious mental and psychiatric needs” was placed in a concrete drunk tank known as “the freezer” before he later died from hypothermia in a death now ruled a homicide, state records show.

Anthony Don Mitchell died Jan. 26, 2023, while in the custody of the Walker County Sheriff’s Department after “spending fourteen days incarcerated under horrendous conditions” at the Walker County Jail, according to an amended complaint filed in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

The jail is in the city of Jasper about 40 miles northwest of Birmingham.

According to the 53-page suit filed by his mother, Margaret Mitchell, corrections officers at the jail purposely exposed her 33-year-old son to freezing temperatures in the tank over a 24-period.

The suit, filed last February, also” claims they denied Mitchell medication, medical treatment and access to water or a toilet.

Mitchell’s death certificate, obtained by USA TODAY, shows he died as a result of hypothermia as well as “sepsis resulting from infections injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect.”

On Monday, Walker County Coroner Joey Vick told USA TODAY Mitchell’s death has been ruled a homicide.

“Tony’s death was wrongful, the result of horrific, malicious abuse and mountains of deliberate indifference, “Jon Goldfarb, an attorney representing Mitchell’s family, wrote in the suit.

As of Monday, no criminal charges had been filed against any off the defendants, Goldfarb told USA TODAY.

Sheriff, officers and nurses named defendants

The suit names defendants including Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, jail Administrator Justin White, more than a dozen jail correction officers, a nurse practitioner, a nurse and an investigator.

Randy McNeill, an attorney representing the sheriff and the corrections officers told USA TODAY he could not comment on the case “because of the ongoing investigation.”

Attorneys for the remaining defendants could not immediately be reached, but according to a motion filed in response to the compliant, the sheriff’s office and its affiliated parties deny the allegations.

“The defendants do not think they did anything wrong,” Goldfarb told USA TODAY Monday via email.

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‘Portals to heaven and portals to hell’

According to the lawsuit, Mitchell lived “in complete isolation’ and suffered from “serious medical and psychiatric needs including but not limited to severe drug addiction, psychosis, and malnourishment.”

At the time of his death, Mitchell was being held at the jail after being arrested during a welfare check, when shots were fired at deputies as they were called to Mitchell’s home for what family members believed to be “a mental break down.”

On the day he was taken to jail, a cousin called 911 for help, the suit continues, because Mitchell was in serious need of psychiatric help, “spouting delusions about portals to heaven and portals to hell.”

When deputies arrived at the home, the suit reads, Mitchell brandished a handgun, fired one shot towards officers then fled into nearby woods.

A black spray painted face

When deputies found Mitchell in the woods, his face was covered with a black substance, the suit continues.

When he arrived at the jail, Mitchell’s cousin noticed his face and asked corrections Officer Arthur Armstrong, one of the defendants named in the suit, what happened.

Armstrong, the suit says, told the cousin Mitchell spray painted his own face black “because he was planning to enter a portal to hell located inside his house.”

Armstrong told Mitchell’s cousin they would set Mitchell’s bail “high enough that he would not be able to bond out,” and assured him Mitchell would receive medical evaluation and treatment in jail, the lawsuit reads.

“Armstrong told him, ‘We’re going to detox him and then we’ll see how much of his brain is left,’ or words to that effect,” the lawsuit reads.

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‘The freezer’

For the duration of his stay at the jail, Mitchell was kept in cell BK5, the “drunk tank,” according to the suit, either mostly or completely naked on a bare concrete floor.

According to the amended complaint, during the night of Jan. 25 to Jan. 26, “corrections officers intentionally caused extremely cold air to blow through the roof vents” in to his cell using the jail’s climate control system.

The outside temperature that night was in the low 30s, the suit claims, so if “it was simply outside air blowing into the cells, that air was frigid,” the attorney wrote.

“BK5, referred to by some longtime corrections staff and inmates as “the freezer” because of the ability of corrections staff to subject inmates to frigid temperatures there, would have been the coldest cell in the booking area, the suite reads. “Inmates housed there report being able to see their breath because it was so cold and that their digits would turn numb.”

At various points during a check, two corrections officers are captured on video “clowning and laughing as Tony lies motionless and naked on the bare cement floor in the open cell behind them, obviously in severe medical distress and in need of immediate emergency medical treatment.”

Deputies, the complaint continues, “did not call an ambulance for him despite his obvious need for emergency medical treatment.”

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72 degrees Fahrenheit

When Mitchell was taken to a hospital in the backseat of a sheriff’s vehicle, his internal body temperature “was at most 72 degrees Fahrenheit when he arrived, according to the suit.

The emergency room doctor who treated Mitchell, and spent more than three hours trying to resuscitate him, wrote the following note in Mitchell’s medical records:

“I am not sure what circumstances the patient was held in incarceration, but it is difficult to understand a rectal temperature of 72°F… while someone is incarcerated in jail. The cause of his hypothermia is not clear…I do believe that hypothermia was the ultimate cause of his death.”

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

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Alabama

Who has Alabama football lost in the transfer portal so far?

Published

39 minutes ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Who has Alabama football lost in the transfer portal so far?

Alabama football has already seen some of its roster clear out via the transfer portal in the days following its loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide will likely see more attrition in the coming days, with players allowed to enter through Jan. 16.

As of Monday morning, 15 Alabama players had entered the portal. Here’s a look at what the Crimson Tide is losing via transfer.

Cam Calhoun

The Utah transfer was a backup cornerback for the Crimson Tide this season. He played a major role on special teams but had trouble cracking the lineup on defense for Alabama.

Calhoun began his college career at Michigan

Rico Scott

Scott was perhaps the fastest receiver on the team, but there were too many players on the depth chart ahead of him. Scott finished the year with 11 catches for 55 yards.

Keon Keeley

When he arrived in Tuscaloosa, Keeley was one of the nation’s top recruits, at the edge position. After a year with the Tide, he moved over to the more traditional defensive end spot that Kane Wommack calls the “bandit.”

Keeley finally was able to make an impact on the field this year after two season on the bench. He likely could have played an increased role with LT Overton off to the NFL, but opted to portal instead.

Wilkin Formby

Formby moved around in Alabama’s lineup during the 2025 season, his first as a full-time starter. He began the year at tackle, but wound up playing right guard as Michael Carroll took over the outside spot.

Cole Adams

Adams was the Crimson Tide’s primary punt returner. However, he didn’t have much of a role at wide receiver.

The Oklahoma native had five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown this season.

Micah DeBose

DeBose joined Alabama as a highly touted recruit before the 2025 season. He saw action in just one game for the Crimson Tide this year, against Eastern Illinois.

Peter Notaro

The Alabama kicking game was an issue at times during the 2025 season. Notaro battled with Conor Talty for the starting job in preseason camp, but Talty eventually earned the spot.

Notaro was a five-star kicker in the 2025 recruiting class according to Kohl’s.

Noah Carter

Carter was a four-star edge recruit for the Crimson Tide ahead of the 2024 season. He redshirted that season, but got more action in 2025.

He finished the year with nine total tackles before deciding to find greener pastures.

Olaus Alinen

Alinen was not a major part of what was an extremely large offensive line rotation this season. The member of Alabama’s 2023 recruiting class earned the most praise from coaches due to his versatility, with the native of Finland able to play both guard and tackle.

Jalen Hale

Hale was a contributor at receiver in 2023, before a major leg injury cost him the 2024 campaign. He returned in 2025, but wasn’t able to get significant playing time at receiver given the amount of talent ahead of him.

Joseph Ionata

Ionata was listed as Alabama’s backup center during the 2025 season. However, when it came down to it, Geno VanDeMark slid to the spot if Parker Brailsford needed to leave the field.

The redshirt freshman did see some playing time on special teams.

Jaylen Mbakwe

Mbakwe joined Alabama as a five-star prospect in the 2024 class and proceeded to have an interesting career in Tuscaloosa. He spent most of 2024 as a defensive back, before deciding to enter the transfer portal, then backing out and switching to wide receiver before the ReliaQuest Bowl.

He stuck at wideout for 2025, without seeing major playing time at that position.

Richard Young

Some turnover among Alabama’s running backs came as no surprise. Young was thought of as a potential starter at running back, but got lost in a struggling rotation.

He finished 2025 with 23 carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

Roq Montgomery

Montgomery did not see the field during the 2025 season. He had been a special teams contributor in 2024, and saw some snaps on the offensive line as well.

Kam Howard

Howard spent two seasons as a cornerback in Tuscaloosa after transferring in from Charlotte. He didn’t play much in 2025, finishing the year with two tackles.

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Alabama

A major overhaul ahead for the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line

Published

13 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

A major overhaul ahead for the Alabama Crimson Tide offensive line

The first phase of good news for the Alabama Crimson Tide is happening. While indications are the two best Alabama offensive linemen will move to the NFL, there are eight other (and counting) offensive linemen who not return for the 2026 season. Three are out of eligibility: Jaeden Roberts, Kam Dewberry, and Geno Van DeMark. Five more are portal entries: Micah DeBose, Joe Ionata, Olaus Alinen, Roq Montgomery, and Wilkin Formby.

Why is the attrition good news? There are two reasons. Kalen DeBoer’s offensive lines have needed skill sets in short supply the last two seasons. His offense needs agile, quick-footed offensive linemen. Not many Alabama football fans will disagree, but for those who do, when two late-season games (Georgia and Indiana) are lost by a combined 56 points, a major overhaul is required.

For an offensive line overhaul, the Crimson Tide needed to free up roster slots, to improve talent, and reallocate money. The count of returning offensive linemen (as of late afternoon on Jan. 4) is six: Mike Carroll, Casey Poe, Jackson Lloyd, Mal Waldrep, Red Sanders, and Arkel Anugwon. In addition, the 2026 class added five more: Tyrell Miller (JUCO), Jared Doughty, Chris Booker, Bear Fretwell, and Bryson Cooley

Next for the Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama could get lucky and have Parker Brailsford decide to play another season of college ball. Assuming that luck will not occur, three or four offensive linemen need to be added through the Portal. At least two of them need to be tabbed as near-locks to start in next fall’s season opener.

So far, the only target known publicly is Texas State center, Brock Riker. New targets are expected to surface soon, some of whom may not be in the portal yet. According to Yahoo Sports, Riker has been targeted by at least nine Power Four programs, with more offers expected soon.

The large number of transfer exits may be an indication that offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic will also move on. Many Alabama football fans are looking forward to DeBoer bringing in a new OL coach.

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Alabama

Alabama outside linebacker to reportedly enter NCAA transfer portal

Published

1 day ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Alabama outside linebacker to reportedly enter NCAA transfer portal

According to a report from ESPN’s Max Olson, Alabama Crimson Tide outside linebacker Noah Carter is set to enter the NCAA transfer portal following two seasons in Tuscaloosa.

Carter is the first Alabama outside linebacker to enter the transfer portal so far this cycle.

The outside linebacker originally came to Alabama as a member of the Crimson Tide’s 2024 class, and was one of the first big commitments of the Kalen DeBoer era. Then, Carter was rated as the nation’s No. 109 overall prospect, as well as No. 9 edge rusher nationally, out of Centennial High School in Arizona, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

During his two seasons at Alabama, Carter posted a combined 11 tackles and 0.5 TFL across 14 games played. The outside linebacker appeared in 11 games this past season, posting nine tackles and 0.5 TFL.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

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