Vote no to Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith. Protect your community!

🗳️ Support a safer Walker County. Say no to Nick Smith and elect a sheriff who prioritizes law.

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Very nice recap of the horrific homicide of Tony Mitchell in the Walker County Alabama Sheriff’s Office Jail.

Recap: Tony Mitchell’s Death and the Alleged Walker County Jail Cover-Up

Background:
Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, a 33-year-old man with a history of drug addiction and mental health struggles, was arrested on January 12, 2023, in Walker County, Alabama. His family had requested a mental health welfare check, during which deputies claimed Mitchell fired a gun at them. He was taken into custody and held at the Walker County Jail.

Nick Smith is the Sheriff of Walker County, Alabama. He has been in office since 2019, having been elected in 2018 after serving as the Cordova Police Chief. Born and raised in Walker County, Smith lives in Saragossa with his wife Tabatha and their four children, three of whom were adopted through foster care. He is currently seeking re-election for a third term.

Smith’s tenure has been marked by significant controversy, particularly surrounding the death of inmate Anthony “Tony” Mitchell in January 2023. Mitchell died in custody at the Walker County Jail, with his death certificate listing the cause as hypothermia and sepsis due to “infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect,” and the manner classified as homicide.    This incident has led to federal lawsuits, protests, and online petitions calling for Smith’s resignation, with allegations of abuse and neglect under his administration.    Federal investigations have resulted in indictments of deputies and guilty pleas from former jail staff, though Smith has denied knowledge of any inhumane treatment and has largely refrained from detailed public comments due to ongoing investigations. ****************************

Nick Smith, the Sheriff of Walker County, Alabama, has faced significant criticism and negative attention, particularly in recent years. Much of this stems from events during his tenure, which began in 2019 after his election in 2018. Below is an overview of the negative reviews and bad news associated with him, based on available information up to April 9, 2025.
The most prominent controversy involves the death of inmate Anthony “Tony” Mitchell in January 2023 at the Walker County Jail.    Mitchell’s death, ruled a homicide by the coroner, was attributed to hypothermia and sepsis caused by infected injuries and medical neglect during his two-week incarceration.    Federal investigations have since uncovered disturbing details, including allegations of a “culture of abuse” within the sheriff’s office. Deputies have been indicted, with one, Carl Lofton Carpenter, admitting to assaulting Mitchell—stomping on his genitals while saying, “This is how we treat seizures in Walker County.” Plea deals have revealed that jail conditions were intentionally kept “as filthy as possible” to pressure county commissioners for budget increases, a strategy that has drawn widespread condemnation.      While Smith has denied knowledge of the mistreatment, critics argue he bears responsibility as the sheriff overseeing the jail, with some pointing to his decision to send Mitchell there despite evident mental health issues.
Public backlash has been intense, with protests, online petitions demanding his resignation, and federal lawsuits piling up. The Mitchell case isn’t isolated—four inmate deaths have occurred under Smith’s watch in 6.5 years, a number he defends as lower than his predecessor’s but which critics still highlight as excessive.    Community trust has eroded further due to perceived lack of transparency. In March 2025, Smith deactivated both his personal and the sheriff’s office Facebook pages, citing “hate, negativity, and vitriol” from the public. This move was seen by some as dodging accountability, especially after two more deputies were indicted days earlier for abusing Mitchell during his arrest.
Smith’s handling of indicted deputies has also drawn ire.    He placed them on paid administrative leave pending federal proceedings, a decision he defended but which angered residents who felt it was too lenient given the severity of the charges. Meanwhile, the Walker County Commission has distanced itself, stating it lacks authority over Smith, leaving many feeling there’s no local oversight.  
Negative sentiment extends beyond the jail scandals. Some residents and online commentators criticize Smith’s focus on the drug epidemic and infrastructure improvements—like adding jail cameras—as insufficient or overshadowed by these failures. His March 2025 statement urging patience as investigations unfold has done little to quell frustration, with many viewing it as deflecting responsibility.  
In summary, Nick Smith’s negative reviews and bad news center on inmate deaths, particularly Tony Mitchell’s, allegations of systemic abuse, and perceived lack of accountability. These issues have fueled a contentious atmosphere in Walker County, with ongoing federal probes likely to keep the spotlight on his leadership.

Incarceration and Conditions:
Mitchell was detained for two weeks in a cell known as BK5, often referred to as the “drunk tank.” This cell was a bare cement box with a drain in the floor, lacking a sink, toilet, bed, or access to water. It was notoriously cold, especially in winter. Reports indicate Mitchell was kept naked, wet, cold, and often covered in feces, without a mat or blanket. Court documents and plea agreements reveal he exhibited severe mental health symptoms—talking about “demons” and “portals”—and was physically frail, unable to care for himself. Despite jail policy requiring medical and mental health screenings, Mitchell received inadequate care, with staff allegedly denying him treatment by labeling him “combative.”

Death and Initial Claims:
On January 26, 2023, after 14 days in custody, Mitchell was transported to Walker Baptist Medical Center in a deputy’s patrol vehicle—not an ambulance—appearing unconscious in surveillance footage. At the hospital, he was unresponsive, with a body temperature of 72°F, agonal breathing (2-4 breaths per minute), and no pulse. He was pronounced dead that day. Initial reports from the Sheriff’s Office claimed he was “alert and conscious” when transported, but video evidence contradicted this. Early federal filings by Mitchell’s family alleged he was placed in a freezer, though this was later modified as a possible explanation for his hypothermia.

Autopsy Findings:
In February 2024, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences autopsy, released via Mitchell’s family attorney, ruled his death a homicide. The causes were listed as hypothermia and sepsis from infected injuries sustained during incarceration, compounded by medical neglect.

Investigations and Pleas:

• Federal Investigation: The FBI and Alabama State Bureau of Investigation launched probes into Mitchell’s death. Sheriff Nick Smith claimed transparency, stating his office provided all footage and documents.

• Guilty Pleas: By April 2025, ten individuals—nine correctional officers and one medical staff member—had pleaded guilty to federal charges related to Mitchell’s death and other abuses. Key figures include:

  • Joshua Conner Jones: Pleaded guilty in September 2024 to conspiracy and deprivation of rights under color of law, admitting, “Collectively we did it. We killed him.” He described a conspiracy to deny Mitchell care.

  • Karen Kelly: Pleaded guilty in August 2024 to deprivation of rights, leaking footage of Mitchell’s mistreatment before being fired. She cited a jail culture of fear and retaliation.

  • Heather Craig and Bailey Clark Ganey: Pleaded guilty in October 2024 to rights violations, aware of Mitchell’s cruel conditions but silent due to fear of reprisal.

  • Carl Lofton Carpenter: A deputy pleaded guilty in April 2025 to excessive force during Mitchell’s arrest, stomping on his genitals while handcuffed. He alleged Sheriff Smith was present during a mental health evaluation and ignored Mitchell’s clear illness.

Alleged Cover-Up:

• Mitchell’s family and legal advocates claim a cover-up began hours before his death, with jail leadership allegedly falsifying reports and delaying medical intervention. Video evidence showed officers laughing at Mitchell’s condition, and nurses were reportedly blocked from evaluating him.

• The Sheriff’s Office denied placing Mitchell in a freezer, asserting he remained in the booking area. However, the extreme hypothermia and plea agreements suggest deliberate mistreatment and neglect.

• A lawsuit by Mitchell’s mother, filed in March 2023, accuses Sheriff Smith and staff of abuse and a scheme to silence the truth. Kelly’s firing after leaking footage supports claims of retaliation.

Public Response:
Mitchell’s death sparked national outrage, with rallies outside the Sheriff’s Office demanding justice. Community activists, like those from “Justice for Tony Mitchell,” pushed for jail reforms. The case remains ongoing, with more arrests expected and civil litigation paused pending criminal outcomes.

 

 

“Secrets True Crime Podcast”

upadte; 4/15/25

12 former employees from the Walker County Alabama Sheriff’s Office have now accepted plea agreements, 1 has been indicted and many more indictments are expected, all stemming from the investigation into the homicide death of Tony Mitchell in the Walker County Jail. Tony’s entire 2 weeks in the Walker County Jail was captured on surveillance video and while he was described by federal prosecutors as never resisting, never being a threat to himself or others, he was stomped, kicked, tased, denied water, tortured and froze to death by countless employees of the jail. His core body temperature was 72 degrees when he arrived at the hospital. After this all came to light, Sheriff Nick Smith lied, denied and fired no one except for the 1 employee who exposed the truth behind Tony’s murder. In fact, he promoted, awarded and rewarded many of the individuals involved. Not only has he refused to resign, he’s running for reelection and can often be found on social media whining about being attacked and bullied by the general public and others, many of whom want him removed from office. These are key parts of the admissions made by some of these former employees through the plea agreements. Note: Individual 1 is Tony Mitchell. Co-Conspirator 1 is Jottie Tidwell and she is still the Captain of the Walker County Jail over 2 years later. Carl Carpenter Once Individual 1 was secured by being handcuffed behind his back, he was evaluated by emergency medical personnel in the presence of the Walker County Sheriff, who determined that Individual 1 would be transported to the Walker County Jail (“Jail”) despite Individual 1 demonstrating symptoms of severe mental illness, including expressing delusions related to demons and portals. At some point during the escort, Individual 1 stiffened momentarily, but without pulling away or making any aggressive moves toward law enforcement. In response and out of anger, defendant CARPENTER threw Individual 1 to the ground, where he fell on his side. Using his foot, defendant CARPENTER turned Individual 1 onto his back, where he lay still handcuffed behind his back. In full view and presence of Officer 1 and others, defendant CARPENTER raised his foot and brought it down with force between Individual 1’s legs, stomping on his genitals while saying words to the effect of “this is how we treat seizures in Walker County.” Defendant CARPENTER stomped on Individual 1’s genitals out of anger at Individual 1 because he had become accustomed to harming arrestees unnecessarily consistent with the “culture” of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. Joshua Conner Jones: At least once during each shift, either defendant JONES, or CO-CONSPIRATOR 2, CO-CONSPIRATOR 3, or CO-CONSPIRATOR 4, would comment on Individual 1’s condition and some member of the conspiracy would dismiss Individual 1’s needs by saying: “F**k him, he gets what he gets since he shot at cops,” or words to that effect. Defendant JONES admitted that “collectively we did it. We killed him.” Karen Kelly BK5 was notoriously cold during winter months and the temperature on the bare cement floor was even colder. Even in those rare instances that Individual 1 was provided with a shower, she was not permitted to provide a towel or other fabric for Individual 1 to dry off before he returned nude to BK5 and its cold temperatures, a result defendant KELLY describes as “inhumane.” Bailey Ganey On the evening of January 25, 2023, the night before Individual 1 died, Jailer 1 and GANEY opened BK5 and to check on Individual 1’s welfare, since he appeared to be in physical distress. Defendant GANEY looked in on Individual 1 and found him to be lying on the floor, largely unresponsive, only able to raise his head and mutter incoherently, and not responding to defendant GANEY’s efforts to get him to raise himself up. In response, defendant GANEY expressed frustration at Individual 1, dismissing his obvious needs and took no steps to aid him. Hours later, on the morning of January 26, 2023, Individual 1 was taken to the local hospital. Upon arrival, he suffered cardiac arrest from which he did not recover. Emergency personnel documented his core body temperature as 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature incompatible with life. Heather Craig Nonetheless, despite the inferences she drew in the face of the objectively obvious harmful conditions, she did not raise her concerns with anyone for fear of being labeled a “snitch” and suffering retaliation from supervisors if she were to ask to send Individual 1 out of the Jail for care. Daniel Wyers Defendant WYERS understood from prior experiences in the Jail that Jailers would punish detainees for conduct committed outside of the Jail, including where they had allegedly been violent toward law enforcement. Defendant WYERS agreed with the idea that Individual 1 ought to be punished on the incorrect assumption that Individual 1 had purposefully shot at law enforcement prior to his arrest. As such, he took no steps to provide care to Individual 1 or alert Jail or Medical Contractor authorities to unnecessarily harsh conditions of his confinement or question Jailer 1 ‘s assertions that Individual 1 was “too combative” to receive care, which he believed to be false at the time. Again, defendant WYERS refused to provide care to Individual 1 despite his objectively obvious need because he had no interest in providing care to someone he thought was unworthy of it and because he feared job ramifications if he offered care against the perceived “prevailing culture.” Specifically, defendant WYERS was reluctant to take any steps that could be construed as providing assistance to Individual 1 for fear that Jail command staff would ask Medical Contractor to move defendant WYERS to a different jail, further from his home, which might create an inconvenient commute for him. Megan Johnson Defendant JOHNSON did not want to be seen as being outside of the Jail’s prevailing culture and be mocked by her CO-CONSPIRATORS and others at the Jail for appearing to care about Individual 1 ‘s obvious needs. Instead, defendant JOHNSON chose to preserve her good relationship with her CO- CONSPIRATORS who were dismissive of Individual 1 ‘s obvious needs because she wanted to be “one of the boys.” From her prior experiences in the Jail, defendant JOHNSON understood that Jailers would punish detainees for conduct committed outside of the Jail, including where they had allegedly been violent toward law enforcement. Defendant JOHNSON understood that such actions were condoned by the Jail administration and were part of the culture of the Jail. Defendant JOHNSON was present in the Jail for an incident on or about November 17, 2022, that made it clear to defendant JOHNSON that the Jail administration approved of this culture. Defendant JOHNSON understood that the choices she, her CO- CONSPIRATORS, and others in the Jail made regarding Individual 1 in the face of the objectively obvious harmful conditions he suffered, would result in serious harm to Individual 1. Nonetheless, despite the inferences she drew, defendant JOHNSON did not raise her concerns with anyone for fear of looking “soft” and suffering retaliation from supervisors if she were to ask to send Individual 1 out of the Jail for care, thereby furthering the conspiracy. Benjamin Shoemaker Defendant SHOEMAKER had previously joked with the Nurse Practitioner about correctional officers punishing detainees for their supposed misbehaviors by mistreating them. Consequently, Defendant SHOEMAKER understood that the Nurse Practitioner didn’t view Individual 1 or any punishment he would suffer as her problem. Similarly, defendant SHOEMAKER had no concerns that any of the other medical staff would object to conditions in which Individual 1 was kept or how he was treated because defendant SHOEMAKER knew the medical staff were aware that correctional officers mistreated other detainees without taking steps to alert proper authorities. Defendant SHOEMAKER had previously been praised in front of much of the Jail staff by CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 and others for punishing a detainee by assaulting him, resulting in his immediate promotion to Lieutenant and granting him status in the eyes of Jail staff. To the contrary, defendant SHOEMAKER and CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 planned to use their harsh treatment of Individual 1 for their personal gain. On the morning ofJanuary 24, 2023, a Walker County Commissioner was scheduled to visit the Jail to observe various cell and working conditions. Defendant SHOEMAKER, CO-CONSPIRATOR 1, their CO-CONSPIRATORS, and others at the Jail wanted the Walker County Commission to increase jailer pay. Defendant SHOEMAKER and CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 wanted to show the County Commissioner how difficult working at the Jail was, how “crazy” and “disgusting” some of the detainees were, and the amount of management the detainees required. To further this goal, defendant SHOEMAKER and others intentionally left Individual 1 ‘s cell as filthy as possible so CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 and defendant SHOEMAKER could use Individual 1 and his cell as a prop to show the County Commissioner. However, this plan was undermined when a jailer that was unaware of the plan had the garbage and left-over food in Individual 1 ‘s cell cleaned out prior to the County Commissioner’s visit. Defendant SHOEMAKER berated this jailer for cleaning out Individual 1’s cell because he was worried that CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 was going to be angry at him if the plan failed. Consequently, he adjusted their plan by convincing a different detainee in the Jail’s booking area to act “crazy” when the County Commissioner visited. After this detainee did so, defendant SHOEMAKER rewarded him with a pack of honey buns. At the beginning of his shift on January 26, 2023, around 6:00 am, several officers told defendant SHOEMAKER that the Nurse Practitioner had seen Individual 1 in the early morning hours and ordered that Individual 1 be transported to a hospital and that the transport should take place as soon as possible. Defendant SHOEMAKER initially dismissed these concerns. Those officers were insistent in telling defendant SHOEMAKER that the nurse said Individual 1 must be taken to the hospital to the point of repeating the message a second time. In response to the second effort by those officers, defendant SHOEMAKER replied: “I’ll tell you what, next time you’re on the toilet taking a shit, I’ll call to bother you with something unimportant,” or words to that effect. Despite his dismissive statements, Defendant SHOEMAKER thought that Individual 1 looked like he was “barely alive.” Thereafter, defendant SHOEMAKER contacted the Nurse who confirmed that Individual 1 needed to go to the hospital. Defendant SHOEMAKER was concerned that if Individual 1 was sent out of the Jail, the abuse of Individual 1 would come to light. Defendant SHOEMAKER called CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 looking for guidance and told her about the nurse’s order. Despite the obvious emergency, CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 told defendant SHOEMAKER not to send Individual 1 to the hospital until she arrived at the Jail and “put eyes on” Individual 1 herself. Defendant SHOEMAKER understood that any delays in transport could contribute to serious harm to Individual 1, would be contrary to policy that dictated deferring to the medical personnel, and was designed for CO-CONSPIRATOR 1 to look after .her own interests in avoiding transport for Individual 1 out of the Jail. Nonetheless, defendant SHOEMAKER failed to arrange for transport. After more than 3 hours had passed since officers reported the nurse’s instructions and the urgent need to do so, Individual 1 was transported to the hospital. Upon arrival, he suffered cardiac arrest from which he did not recover. Emergency personnel documented his core body temperature as 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature incompatible with life. An autopsy performed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences determined that the cause of Individual 1’s death was hypothermia with the contributing factor of sepsis from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect. Blood cultures revealed the presence of bacteria associated with human fecal matter. *******************************************     *************************** Walker County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer TJ Armstrong’s lies didn’t age well.      

 

     

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Vote No to Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith

Oppose the re-election campaign of Sheriff Nick Smith in Walker County and ensure public safety.

Stand up for your community’s safety and civil rights by voting against Sheriff Nick Smith in the upcoming election.

Support a Sheriff who prioritizes public safety

Choose a Sheriff who is committed to protecting the community and upholding the law.

Make a difference in your community by electing a Sheriff who values public safety and community well-being of his inmates. Sheriff Smith has taken no responsibility for the deaths within his administration. It’s time for leadership change.

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The autopsy revealed that Tony Mitchell died in the Walker County Alabama Jail from hypothermia and sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect.

 

 

 

 

Vote No to Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith

 

Frequently Asked Questions

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Nick Smith’s track record as Walker County Sheriff has been marred by controversy and a lack of accountability. It’s time for a change.

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There are several qualified candidates running for Walker County Sheriff who are committed to transparency, community engagement, and upholding the highest standards of law enforcement.

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https://youtu.be/iQFq8etoKjE?si=OB6fxWyKx8WgzFma