EXCLUSIVE: WBRC tours Walker County Jail, Sheriff Smith responds to ongoing issues

JASPER, Ala. (WBRC) - We’re On Your Side getting answers after a Walker County corrections officer was accused of having sexual contact with an inmate.

Sheriff Nick Smith told WBRC during an exclusive interview that Jonathan Edwards was fired following the charge of custodial sexual conduct.

The charge came after another corrections officer came forward after hearing of the allegations.

“A corrections officer heard the info who brought it to my office, we acted quickly and swift to get warrants in hand and a proper investigation,” Smith said.

According to Smith, Edwards was in a probationary period of employment and turned himself in.

After sitting down with Sheriff Smith to get more information about the arrest, WBRC’s Taylor Pollock also toured the Walker County Jail, getting a look at improvements the sheriff says ensure everyone inside stays safe.

“I wasn’t handed the keys to a fantastic castle, there was a lot of problems, there have been a lot of problems we’ve had to work through, there are still a lot of problems that we have to fix. There’s a lot of things we have to navigate through,” Smith said. “I’m not going to sit back and let the good positive things we have done be tarnished, obviously bad apples exist everywhere.”

Smith said during his time as sheriff, there have been four inmate deaths.

That includes Tony Mitchell’s in 2023. At least 20 people are facing charges in his death.

The sheriff pointed out they’ve added features like health monitors in some cells with high risk inmates. Smith says when he first took office, the jail had just five cameras. Now, it has more than 100. He said it’s part of his goal to be transparent.

“I believed in accountability and transparency, and it’s not always pretty,” said Smith. “The good thing about having the technology and the things that we have in our facility is if people do right, technology can exonerate them, and if there is allegations of misconduct, we can investigate that properly.”

WBRC asked whether the alleged misconduct between Edwards and the inmate had been captured on surveillance video, Sheriff Smith declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation.

Smith said he’s not questioning the integrity of the department following the recent allegations.

“If we’re looking at the totality of everything from the time I took office, if we’re questioning integrity, from the time I took office and where we’re at now, today things are better. Could they be better? Yes,” Smith said.

Smith said following these changes, the jail is now safer than ever, and that he continues to push for more features to make sure no one inside is hurt.

WBRC asked what, if anything, Sheriff Smith plans to do different going forward with making hires. He says there are already adequate polices in place, including screening and background checks for their hiring process.

Smith is running for reelection in 2026 against several candidates, including Jasper Police Chief J.C. Poe.

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