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Water was kept from mentally ill inmate for 7 days before he died of dehydration

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Tovarisc

Member
Just a few hours into Terrill Thomas’s eighth day in solitary confinement at the Milwaukee County Jail last year, correction officers found the 38-year-old man on the ground and not moving.

He was dead.

Thomas had spent his final days begging for water, inmates later told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, because jail staff had shut off the flow to the pipes in his cell as punishment for bad behavior.

The cause of death was ultimately ruled “profound dehydration” and the medical examiner classified it a homicide — meaning death at the hands of others — an announcement that drew a torrent of rage from Sheriff David Clarke, a tough-talking and loyal President Trump surrogate.

Still, nearly a year later, no criminal charges have been filed in Thomas’s death.

But an inquest this week by prosecutors could shed more light on the circumstances of the case, whether someone should be held responsible and, if so, who and for what.

The first major court revelation came Monday, when prosecutors told the jury that Thomas had endured seven days without any liquid, lost 35 pounds and grown weak and quiet before he died inside his cell last year, reported the Journal Sentinel.

By the end of the week, Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley told jurors they would be asked to answer three questions, according to Fox 6: “What was the cause of Mr. Thomas’ death? Was it the result of criminal activity? And if so, who committed the crime?”

....

During an opening statement, Benkley said three corrections officers were captured on surveillance video cutting off Thomas’s water supply, reported the Journal Sentinel. They never turned it back on and failed to document the action or alert supervisors.

Inmates in solitary are only served beverages with their meals on Sundays, officer DeCorie Smith testified Monday, according to Fox 6. The other six days of the week, inmates get their water from the sinks in their cells, to which Thomas had no access.

Thomas had been moved to solitary in the discipline unit after he used his bedding to flood his jail cell in the special needs unit, where he was initially kept for his bipolar disorder.

“This order to shut off Mr. Thomas’ water was highly irregular and contrary to standard operating procedure in the jail,” Benkley said Monday, according to the Journal Sentinel.

Benkley told the jurors they will hear from fellow inmates who claim Thomas called for water. He also said there is evidence that Thomas’s compromised mental health made it clear he was “unable to tell people about his basic needs.”

....

The man’s sons filed a lawsuit in federal court last month claiming their father “was subjected to a form of torture” during his time in solitary confinement and that officers ignored his pleas for help.

The lawsuit claimed that police took Thomas for a hospital examination after he was disruptive at the jail and showed “signs of acute psychological disorders,” reported the Associated Press. The hospital cleared him for transport.

Days before he died, a judge ordered a competency examination for Thomas.

“We see what happened as a completely preventable death and a grave injustice of a mentally ill man,” Erik Heipt, attorney for Thomas’s estate, told Fox 6 last month. “He was in a mental health crisis, he needed help. He didn’t need to be punished by throwing him into a solitary unit without water.”

....

Thomas was one of four people to die at the Milwaukee County Jail during a six-month period in 2016, according to Fox 46.

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice said it would consider investigating the deaths after a congresswoman requested it. State lawmakers and an activist organization called on Clarke to resign over the deaths.


Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...dehydration/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.3d73125623d3
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Man our whole prison system and law enforcement in general is so fucked. Yes I'm aware not everyone involved in these is a bad person but god damn there seem to be more rotten eggs than good ones at this point.
 

Future

Member
Man our whole prison system and law enforcement in general is so fucked. Yes I'm aware not everyone involved in these is a bad person but god damn there seem to be more rotten eggs than good ones at this point.

What's crazy is how long it takes to get traction on an investigation. There are fucked up people everywhere and you cannot always prevent that. But you can certainly prosecute them and eliminate them from service immediately
 

MarionCB

Member
This appears to be an open and shut case. Those three officers deliberately shut off this man's access to water, he then predictably died of lack of water. That is murder. The prison authorities are also guilty of neglect because they had a Duty of Care for this man, which they failed at a basic level.

However, the inmate being boiled alive in a hot shower for hours was open and shut too. We'll see if justice is done here. The world is watching.
 
The prison system in the US is a slave trade at this point, and cases like these show how humans are being treated like disposable cattle.

Everyone should watch the documentary The 13th on Netflix. There is money to be made around too many aspects of our judicial system (police departments, prisons, bail bonds, corporations that exploit free slave labor, etc etc etc).

There is no other option but to have a dramatic paradigm shift on how crime is dealt with in the US across the entire system. Easy peacy.
 

red731

Member
One killed by burning water in the showers by cunts and now this one doesn't receive any water.

Fuck everything
 

Link

The Autumn Wind
Man our whole prison system and law enforcement in general is so fucked. Yes I'm aware not everyone involved in these is a bad person but god damn there seem to be more rotten eggs than good ones at this point.
No doubt. None of these people care about justice. They only want to wield power over others. And they want to use that power in any way they can.
 

Amory

Member
Man our whole prison system and law enforcement in general is so fucked. Yes I'm aware not everyone involved in these is a bad person but god damn there seem to be more rotten eggs than good ones at this point.

Prison staff are paid like, less than someone working retail or at a fast food restaurant.

So not only are there probably just a lot of rotten eggs, they're also not very well educated either. Which is bad, when they're in charge of other people's lives.
 

Arttemis

Member
Sheriff David Clarke sounds like a real piece of shit. The medical examiner pronounces this a homicide, and Clarke threatens him.
 
This appears to be an open and shut case. Those three officers deliberately shut off this man's access to water, he then predictably died of lack of water. That is murder. The prison authorities are also guilty of neglect because they had a Duty of Care for this man, which they failed at a basic level.

However, the inmate being boiled alive in a hot shower for hours was open and shut too. We'll see if justice is done here. The world is watching.

I expect the people involved to get paid holiday and a raise.
 

RinsFury

Member
Sheriff David Clarke sounds like a real piece of shit. The medical examiner pronounces this a homicide, and Clarke threatens him.

He is a real piece of shit. Just search his name on google or youtube.

And those three guards deserve life sentences for the way they tortured and murdered that poor man. I can't imagine how awful it must be to slowly die of thirst over a seven day period, ugh.
 

Arttemis

Member
Wow, that Sheriff is a real bad piece of shit.

“I have nearly 1,000 inmates. I don’t know all their names but is this the guy who was in custody for shooting up the Potawatomi Casino causing one man to be hit by gunfire while in possession of a firearm by a career convicted felon?” Clarke told the Associated Press. “The media never reports that in stories about him. If that is him, then at least I know who you are talking about.”
 
Wow, that Sheriff is a real bad piece of shit.

“I have nearly 1,000 inmates. I don’t know all their names but is this the guy who was in custody for shooting up the Potawatomi Casino causing one man to be hit by gunfire while in possession of a firearm by a career convicted felon?” Clarke told the Associated Press. “The media never reports that in stories about him. If that is him, then at least I know who you are talking about.”
I love how he thinks that should matter. "Hey this man shot someone, so there is that". Like fuck this guy. No one deserves to get torchered.
 

Link

The Autumn Wind
I think any time Sheriff Clarke is mentioned in a story or report, his name should be followed by "the racist Uncle Tom Trump supporter." You know, just so we know who they're talking about.
 

shiba5

Member
I thought this happened again, but then I realized that this is an old story that is just getting traction NOW.
They straight up tortured and murdered this man and no one has been held accountable.
 
Wow, that Sheriff is a real bad piece of shit.

“I have nearly 1,000 inmates. I don’t know all their names but is this the guy who was in custody for shooting up the Potawatomi Casino causing one man to be hit by gunfire while in possession of a firearm by a career convicted felon?” Clarke told the Associated Press. “The media never reports that in stories about him. If that is him, then at least I know who you are talking about.”

Damn, literally only knows convicts individually if there's a "No Angel" defense he can use
 
I want those people behind bars NOW. That's an abuse of power that resulted in the death of someone. There shouldn't even be a defense force for this kind of thing.

The sheriff can join them as well.
 

Keasar

Member
Jesus fuck. That is awful...

The American prison system scares the fuck out of me often more than it should because how low it is in terms of treatment of inmates by western standards. Even more horrifying when considering how many in America are in prison for minor offences that shouldn't result in jail to begin with.
 

Atolm

Member
-Man has a diagnosed bipolar disorder

-Someone, somewhere, with probably zero knowledge about mental illness, decides it is a good idea to put said man into solitary confinement.

As a psychologist I'm just appalled at this.


-Later, man dies because someone decided to punish him with water-starvation techniques and forgot to turn it back on.

Fuck this world, really. America is a fucked up place for the mentally ill, which is curious when you think about it. Most research, diagnostic manuals and the like come from your country. Do something, guys.
 

Dyle

Member
Fuck Sheriff Clarke. This inhumanity is the literal definition of cruel and unusual punishment, but you can bet that he and his department will just get a slap on the wrist for this and all the other horrible things they've done. There's no way this monster will ever face justice as long as Jeff Sessions, or any Republican, is in charge of the justice department. Being a black cop who's spoken at Republican party rallies, Clarke will never be held responsible for the actions of his officers.

Truly reprehensible
 

Arttemis

Member
This reminded me of a previous thread about Elliott Williams, a mentally unstable Army vet, jailed in Tulsa, OK with a broken neck, became paralyzed after a day in prison of horrific screaming, was left in a shower face down, then placed in confinement where jail medical staff placed food and water out of reach before he died.

That family got $10.25 million from the county and sheriff, but no criminal charges.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/19/cops-taunted-black-veteran-as-he-died.html
 

sirap

Member
That's incredibly fucked up.

Solitary confinement is already pretty bad, but withholding water is straight up torture. How rotten does your soul have to be to do something like that.
 

bunbun777

Member
This reminded me of a previous thread about Elliott Williams, a mentally unstable Army vet, jailed in Tulsa, OK with a broken neck, became paralyzed after a day in prison of horrific screaming, was left in a shower face down, then placed in confinement where jail medical staff placed food and water out of reach before he died.

That family got $10.25 million from the county and sheriff, but no criminal charges.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/19/cops-taunted-black-veteran-as-he-died.html

That report shook me up when I read it originally. It is such a messed up system when officers of the law are far less likely to be held accountable to the law.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I hope these people get everything they deserve but who know's in this country.
 
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