SHERIFF

Water Denied to Wisconsin Inmate for 1 Week Led to Dehydration Death: Prosecutor

Terrill Thomas had been placed in solitary confinement after he used a mattress to flood his cell in another jail unit

Milwaukee County Jail officers cut off an inmate's water for seven consecutive days before the man died of dehydration, prosecutors say.

Assistant District Attorney Kurt Bentley told jurors at an inquest Monday that Terrill Thomas was mentally unstable and unable to ask for help before he died in his cell in April 2016, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Thomas had been placed in solitary confinement after he used a mattress to flood his cell in another jail unit.

The jury will issue a verdict on whether criminal charges are warranted in Thomas' death. The jury's recommendation is advisory.

Separately, Thomas' children have filed a federal civil suit, saying their father's treatment by Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and his staff amounts to torture.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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