A need for justice
Given the details revealed in the inquest into the death of Terrill Thomas, charges appear to be warranted against several jail employees, as the inquest jury recommended Monday. The allegations of negligence and abuse were shocking, as was the apparent carelessness that marked the oversight and follow-up to Thomas’ death.
We hope Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm issues those charges — the inquest jury’s finding is only advisory — which would allow the courts to determine justice in this case. And although Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. was not a target of the inquest, authorities need to consider whether he should bear any consequences for what happened in the jail that he runs. At the very least, instead of ducking responsibility, Clarke owes the public an explanation for how this happened on his watch.
Thomas, a 38-year-old with bipolar disorder, died of dehydration in April 2016 after he was deprived of water and a mattress for seven straight days. One expert witness called the practice unconscionable and inhumane. If it happened as described during the inquest, it was all of that and more. Thomas was one of four people who died at the jail last year.
Former deputy inspector Kevin Nyklewicz testified that a number of frontline officers and their supervisors botched the oversight of Thomas. Not only did jail staff deprive Thomas of water and a mattress, they failed to get him medical help or voice concern to their superiors about Thomas’ condition, according to testimony.
On Monday, the jury was told that water was ordered shut off to two more inmates in the weeks after Thomas died, a practice one prosecutor called “torture.” Those two inmates were punished for covering their cell windows, jail logs show.
Just what kind of jail is Clarke running? And where does the buck stop? It has to stop with Clarke.
Thomas was in the jail after allegedly confessing to shooting a man in the chest and later firing two shots in the Potawatomi casino. He deserved to be in jail, but he did not deserve what happened to him there.
Chisholm said Monday that the jail can make a number of easy fixes to avoid more deaths.
He’s right, and those fixes need to be made now.
What may be more difficult is holding to account those responsible — all of those responsible — for Thomas’ death. That’s the challenge Chisholm and the justice system face now.
Taxes are forever
In response to John Schlice’s letter on April 28, “A plan for roads,” his idea has been tried and sadly failed several times in the past.
I wasn’t even old enough to drive when Illinois unveiled its wonderful toll road system. At the grand opening it was declared that the toll system would be temporary, as it would be removed upon final payment of construction costs. The toll gates installed were even built in an elevated fashion so when they were removed the roadway would continue on in a flat manner.
This many years later, some of those same toll gates are still in place, only expanded and much more costly.
Tolls may be the answer to part of the problem, but please, let’s not try to sugarcoat the situation by an imaginary removal of any tax or fee in the foreseeable future. All we have to do to remind us is to look at Miller Park, which should have been paid off and the tax removed almost a decade ago. And then there’s the new Bucks stadium.
John Maltby Burlington