Alabama sheriff loses reelection after a man froze to death in jail

Nick Smith, the Alabama sheriff who runs the jail where a mentally ill man froze to death in January 2023, has lost his bid for reelection.

Smith was the subject of a March USA TODAY investigation that detailed the jail death of 33-year-old Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, the federal indictment of more than two dozen jail workers and other misconduct by Smith’s employees.

Smith, who had campaigned for a third term in Walker County, northwest of Birmingham, placed third in the Republican primary Tuesday. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers, Jason Akins and J.C. Poe, will move on to a June runoff. The winner will serve as the next sheriff, since there is not a Democratic candidate on the November ballot.

Smith who has denied wrongdoing, did not return messages Tuesday and Wednesday from USA TODAY.

In a December interview, Smith told the news organization he had made many improvements at the jail, both before and after Mitchell’s death. Smith also said it would be impossible to reduce the number of jail deaths to zero.

“Can I say ... ‘There won’t never be another person die in this jail?’ I can’t say that,” Smith told USA TODAY at the time. “Because if you put 200 people, 100 people, 150 people, 400 people in one building, that are sick, you can’t never make that promise to somebody.”

Tony Mitchell's sister, Maranda Mitchell-Gutzmer, told USA TODAY she was glad Smith lost.

"We're grateful to see his reign of terror come to a close. It is long overdue," she wrote in a message to a reporter. "I hope whoever steps into the role next leads with transparency, accountability, a desire to serve the community, and truly cares about the welfare of the public. Walker County deserves dependable, honest leadership for all of its citizens."

Ryan Cagle, a pastor and activist who led a grassroots effort to hold Smith accountable for Mitchell’s death, credited USA TODAY’s coverage with mobilizing voters to oust the sheriff, who was first elected in 2018.

“It showed me that there is hope for truth, justice and accountability to prevail even when the odds are stacked against them,” Cagle said of Smith's defeat. “When they announced the results, I felt so much relief. I immediately thought of Tony’s family, his mom, sister and other family members. I prayed, ‘May this moment give them room to breathe.’”

Cagle added that he was “overwhelmed with both gratitude and bewilderment.”

Many in Walker County had expected Smith to cruise to reelection. Susan Pace Hamill, a professor emerita of law at the University of Alabama told USA TODAY in March that “getting rid of a sheriff in a smallish Alabama County is like deposing a king.”

Federal police misconduct investigation continues

Mitchell, in the throes of a mental health crisis, was arrested Jan. 12, 2023. For two weeks, he was locked in a bare concrete cell at the Walker County Jail nicknamed “the freezer” with no bunk, no toilet and no running water.

According to a lawsuit later filed by his family, jailers brought Mitchell to the toilet and shower only six times the entire two weeks he was there – not even once every two days – and his cell became soiled with feces. After his showers, he was returned, naked and cold, to the filthy, freezing cell.

On Jan. 26, 2023, Mitchell was finally evaluated by a nurse, who said he needed to go to the hospital. No one called 911. Leaked surveillance video shows jailers shoving him, motionless, into the back of an SUV. He had no pulse when he arrived at the hospital. Along with sepsis, his cause of death was hypothermia. His body temperature was 72 degrees.

A federal investigation following Mitchell’s death resulted in the indictments of 25 people – 20 sheriff’s department employees and five health care contractors. Smith was not one of them.

As of mid-May, 13 defendants had pleaded guilty, admitting they violated Mitchell’s civil rights. Another worker entered a guilty plea stemming from a different incident.

The local district attorney later filed unrelated misdemeanor charges against Smith for hiring unqualified people. Smith is fighting the charge and has asked a judge to throw it out. A state board also has voted to strip Smith of his law enforcement certification. If that action is finalized, he would be ineligible to work as a deputy or police officer in Alabama.

Both Akins and Poe have promised to improve accountability and transparency within the jail and the sheriff’s department if elected.

Cagle, the activist, says he hopes the winner keeps that promise.

“I hope that they will start from the top, working down to change the culture of that department away from one of punishment and abuse toward a culture of care,” he said.

Gina Barton is an investigative reporter at USA TODAY. She can be reached at (262) 757-8640 or [email protected]. Follow her on X @writerbarton or on Bluesky @writerbarton.bsky.social.

Will Carless covers extremism and emerging issues for USA TODAY.