Other recent deaths at Clarke’s jail include those of Kristina Fiebrink, 38, who died on Augafter she was not properly assessed or placed on a preventative heroin detoxification protocol following her arrest, and 29-year-old Michael Madden, who died at the jail in October 2016 due to an undetermined cause, though a fellow prisoner claimed a guard let Madden, who had suffered a seizure, fall and strike his head. Rebecca Terry claimed in her complaint that she delivered her own baby without medical care on March 10, 2014, despite begging for help, then was shackled for a week after being taken to a hospital for postpartum treatment. 2:14-cv-00200-JPS.Īnother lawsuit was filed in August 2017 by a woman who gave birth in her cell at the Milwaukee County Jail. PLN will report that case and its outcome in greater detail in a future article. On June 7, 2017, a jury awarded $6.7 million in damages to the former prisoner, whose name was withheld. Thicklen, he pleaded guilty to felony misconduct of a public figure and was fired. Although sexual assault charges were dropped against the guard, Xavier D. That litigation follows a lawsuit filed in 2014 by a woman who alleged she was repeatedly raped by a guard and shackled at the jail during 21 hours of labor. Hall’s suit, filed on March 14, 2017, was granted class-action status when 40 other former prisoners joined, claiming they had also been shackled while pregnant. Swayzer has filed a federal lawsuit against Milwaukee County, which faces another suit filed by former prisoner Melissa Hall, 27, who claims she was shackled while pregnant at the jail. 2:17-cv-01128-PP.Ī newborn died at the jail in July 2016 after Shadé Swayzer gave birth in her cell without security or medical staff noticing. “They also deprived him of edible food, a functioning toilet, access to a shower, a sanitary living environment, any relief from 24-hour lockdown, and urgently needed medical and mental health care.” See: Estate of Thomas v. Thomas remained locked alone in his cell, 24 hours a day, as he literally died of thirst,” the complaint states. “For seven straight days, from Apuntil his death on April 24, 2016, Mr. A lawsuit filed by his family remains pending. Other prisoners reportedly indicated that the water supply in Thomas’ cell was shut off by jail staff for a week in May 2017, a grand jury recommended criminal charges against seven jail employees in connection with Thomas’ death, though thus far no charges have been brought. Thomas died of “profound dehydration,” among other factors. Thomas was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office. The April 2016 death of 38-year-old detainee Terrill J. and morally bankrupt.”īut while Sheriff Clarke has been currying political clout – he considered running for mayor of Milwaukee in 2016 – prisoners have been dying in his jail and Milwaukee County auditors launched an investigation into medical care at the facility. In 2015 he told the Fox and Friends news show that “police brutality ended in the 1960s.” And in a podcast that same year on his personal website, he said blacks sell drugs because they are “uneducated. In a July 2016 speech at the Republican National Convention, the sheriff – who ran and was elected as a Democrat – compared the Black Lives Matter movement to the KKK. The White House refused to confirm Clarke’s appointment, which he then said he rescinded in June 2017 following news reports that he had plagiarized parts of his master’s thesis.Ĭlarke, a controversial figure who is both African-American and an outspoken Trump supporter, has become known for his inflammatory comments on race, criminal justice and politics.
Department of Homeland Security – a position he accepted.
The deaths have also led to questions about Sheriff Clarke, who claimed in May 2017 that he had been appointed by President Trump to serve in a leadership position in the U.S. The string of deaths has raised concerns about conditions at the jail, including whether adequate medical care is being provided. Clarke, Jr., houses about 950 detainees daily. Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on G+ Share with emailĪt least four people, including a newborn, have died in Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County Jail since April 2016.
0 kommentar(er)
