An inmate has died after being held in a cell known as the "freezer".
According to a lawsuit filed against the Walker County Jail in Jasper, Alabama, Tony Mitchell was tasered and kept in a temporary holding cell - known to local sheriff's deputies as "the freezer" because of the cold air that gets blasted into it. The suit alleges he was confined there for a total of 14 days, eventually leading to his death.
The victim was taken to jail two weeks prior back in January 2023 after one of his cousins grew concerned for his mental health and called 911 for a wellness check after initially calling the Walker County Sheriff’s Department for help but receiving no response.
Tony had been in what the family lawyer referred to as a "delusional" state of mind caused by years of methamphetamine addiction.
However, when the local deputies arrived at his home that afternoon, it was said that Tony "immediately brandished a handgun, and fired at least one shot at Deputies before retreating into a wooded area behind his home," as per a report released by the sheriff's department.
The deputies arrested him and took him to jail and just two weeks later, Tony died.
On his revised death certificate, which was obtained by PEOPLE, his cause of death is now branded a homicide, due to hypothermia and "sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect."
Now his mother, Margaret Mitchell wants answers, filing a a civil complaint in the Northern Division of Alabama’s Southern Division U.S. District Court for wrongful death in connection with her 33-year-old son's alleged treatment at the facility.
As per the outlet, in the complaint, Tony's family are holding multiple people accountable including Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, Jail Administrator Justin White, 13 corrections officers, and two jail-staffed nurses, among a handful of others.
The complaint also includes references to a video that was leaked to the family by a concerned correctional officer who was fired after doing so.
The family’s lawyers allege that Tony was kept in a cell that was described as a "bare concrete 'drunk tank,'" with a small hole in the ground serving as a makeshift toilet.
The lawyers also claimed that Tony was denied proper medical treatment for his taser wounds and his drug addiction and made to survive in "frigid temperatures," which ultimately lead to his tragic death on January 26, 2023.
"I am not sure what circumstances the patient was held in incarceration but it is difficult to understand a rectal temperature of 72° F 22° centigrade while someone is incarcerated in jail," an emergency room physician wrote according to medical records.
"I do not know if he could have been exposed to a cold environment," they added.
Jon C. Goldfarb, the lawyer representing the family in the civil case, told PEOPLE that the family is suing because the jail has left many questions unanswered about Tony's final days.
"The family looks forward to moving forward with this case," Goldfarb told the outlet in a statement. "And getting answers to not only what happened to Tony Mitchell, but why it happened and what can be done to make sure this never happens to anyone else."
