Prosecutor: Sheriff Clarke’s Jail Shut Off Water Before Inmate’s Death

Milwaukee County Jail staff cut off water access to an inmate seven days before he died of dehydration, prosecutors said Monday. Terrill Thomas, who died in jail a year ago, was too mentally unstable to ask for assistance as he died, the prosecutors further alleged. Surveillance video shows a corrections officer turning off the flow of water to Thomas’s solitary confinement cell several days before he died. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Prosecutors said jail staff made several decisions relating to Thomas that run contrary to standard operating procedures at the jail. A six-person jury seated Monday morning will hear testimony and issue a verdict on whether those decisions warrant a filing of criminal charges in the case. Prosecutors are not required to follow the jury's verdict. They have not said who is under consideration for possible criminal charges.” The jail is run by Sheriff David A. Clarke, best known for his inflammatory rhetoric, vociferous Trump support, and frequent Fox News appearances.