An Alabama inmate with "serious mental and psychiatric needs" was placed in a concrete drunk tank known as "the freezer" before he died from hypothermia in a death now ruled a homicide. 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 federal lawsuit, USA Today reports. The jail is in the city of Jasper about 40 miles northwest of Birmingham. According to the 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 also" claims they denied Mitchell medication, medical treatment and access to water or a toilet. Mitchell's death certificate 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 said 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.