JASPER, Ala. — Former Walker County jail lieutenant Benjamin Shoemaker pleaded guilty last week to federal charges in the death of Tony Mitchell, a 33-year-old inmate who succumbed to hypothermia after enduring two weeks in what prosecutors described as “inhumane and deadly” conditions. Shoemaker is the ninth jail employee to admit guilt in the case, which has exposed a culture of abuse and neglect at the Walker County Jail.
Mitchell, arrested on January 12, 2023, following a family-initiated welfare check, was housed in a concrete cell without a toilet or running water. He was left naked and covered in waste, denied medical care, and subjected to freezing temperatures. According to court documents, Shoemaker and other staff intentionally maintained these conditions as part of a scheme to convince county commissioners to increase salaries and the jail’s budget. Shoemaker even used Mitchell’s cell as a “prop” during a commissioner’s visit days before Mitchell’s death.
When nurses urged Shoemaker to send Mitchell to the hospital on January 26, 2023, he delayed for over three hours. By the time Mitchell arrived at Walker Baptist Hospital, his body temperature had plummeted to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. He was pronounced dead after hours of resuscitation attempts. The cause of death was hypothermia, compounded by sepsis from untreated wounds.
This case is emblematic of broader systemic issues within Alabama’s correctional facilities. The U.S. Department of Justice has called Alabama’s prison conditions unconstitutional, citing overcrowding, understaffing, and rampant violence. In 2023 alone, Alabama prisons recorded 325 deaths—89 from overdoses—highlighting the state’s failure to provide basic safety and care.
Walker County Jail has become a grim symbol of these failures. Federal investigations revealed that jail staff fostered abusive practices for personal gain. One officer admitted they “collectively killed” Mitchell by ignoring his suffering. Another confessed she remained silent about the abuse to “fit in” with her colleagues.
Alabama’s prison system has faced scrutiny for years. In 2020, the DOJ sued the state for violating inmates’ Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights through excessive violence and neglect. Despite federal orders for reform, progress has been slow. Critics argue that Alabama prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation, with billions spent on new prison construction instead of addressing systemic issues like mental health care and reentry services.
Mitchell’s death underscores not just the failures of one jail but a broader crisis in American incarceration. Advocates warn that without meaningful reform, tragedies like this will continue to plague Alabama’s prisons—and tarnish its justice system.