Deputy stomped on detainee’s genitals before he died in Alabama jail, feds say
A deputy pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the abuse of a 33-year-old detainee who was arrested during a welfare check and died while in custody in an Alabama jail, federal prosecutors said.
Anthony “Tony” Mitchell died Jan. 26, 2023, of hypothermia and a medical condition caused by infected injuries and medical neglect while at the Walker County Jail in Jasper, according to a death certificate Mitchell’s family shared with McClatchy News.
After a wrongful death lawsuit for Mitchell was filed Feb. 13, 2023, eight corrections officers and one nurse have pleaded guilty in connection to his death, the Associated Press reported.
Carl Carpenter is the latest Walker County sheriff’s deputy to enter a guilty plea on two counts of deprivation of rights, according to an April 1 plea agreement. He was indicted Feb. 27, 2025, along with one other co-conspirator, according to court records.
McClatchy News reached out to Carpenter’s attorneys for comment April 2 but did not receive an immediate response.
Jon Goldfarb, the lead attorney in Mitchell’s case, called it “the worst case of inmate abuse I have ever seen,” McClatchy News reported in February 2023.
What happened during the arrest?
Mitchell was arrested after he was accused of firing a gun while deputies were on his property for a mental health welfare check, prosecutors said in the plea agreement and McClatchy News reported.
As Mitchell was being taken to the jail, Carpenter threw him to the ground, kicked him onto his back and stomped “with force” on his genitals in response to him stiffening for a moment without being aggressive, according to the plea agreement.
“This is how we treat seizures in Walker County,” Carpenter told Mitchell, according to the plea agreement.
Then Carpenter and another officer — identified as James Handley in an indictment — held Mitchell by his arms and dragged him to a police vehicle that was parked about 75 yards from where he was arrested, prosecutors said.
Carpenter then threw Mitchell into the back seat and left his legs hanging out of the vehicle, according to the plea agreement. Handley is then accused of kicking Mitchell’s legs “in an apparent attempt to further inflict pain,” prosecutors said.
In the plea agreement, Carpenter said he stomped on Mitchell’s genitals “out of anger” because he had “become accustomed to harming arrestees unnecessarily consistent with the ‘culture’ of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.”
McClatchy News reached out to the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for comment April 2 but did not receive an immediate response.
Carpenter could serve up to 10 years in prison with up to three years of supervised release, pay a maximum fine of $250,000 and a fee of $100 for each count, according to the plea agreement.
Jasper is about a 40-mile drive northwest from Birmingham.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Deputy stomped on detainee’s genitals before he died in Alabama jail, feds say."
