A group of approximately 20 people held a protest outside the Walker County Jail in Jasper on Thursday night in the wake of state paperwork being leaked to the media showing Tony Mitchell’s 2023 death while in the custody of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office has been ruled as a homicide.
The two-page document, obtained by Mitchell’s family, reports the manner of death as “homicide” and the cause of death being “hypothermia” due to “sepsis as a result of infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect.” The full autopsy report has not been released. The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville said it cannot release any information or make any comments if there is a pending criminal investigation.
A copy of the document, which was confirmed to being obtained by Mitchell’s family, was sent to The Community Journal on Thursday evening by an anonymous source and is attached to this story.
Sheriff Nick Smith released a statement to the Journal via text message, which said, “At the beginning of this situation even though I was not there during the time of the incident. Once notified I dedicated myself to being as transparent as possible while preserving the fairness and impartiality expected from an outside investigation. As your sheriff, my office immediately requested that the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) look into this matter further both verbally and in writing, which is standard protocol since day one. My Office has provided all video footage documenting Mitchell’s two-week stay at Walker County Jail along with any other documents required by SBI and the FBI for a comprehensive examination. Recently completed autopsy brings us closer to uncovering truth behind this case but due to the ongoing investigations I am unable discuss details right now.”
