Jacob Carpenter

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Terrill Thomas spent seven straight days holed up in a solitary confinement cell with no running water, slowly withering away.

Thomas started the weeklong stretch at the Milwaukee County Jail belligerent and loud, the result of an untreated mental illness, prosecutors said. But as the days wore on, he grew weak and dehydrated. He lost nearly 35 pounds and turned quiet, never asking for or receiving medical attention.

Barely two hours into his eighth day in solitary, jail staff found Thomas, 38, dead on his jail cell floor, the result of profound dehydration.

Prosecutors on Monday began the process of publicly airing the circumstances surrounding Thomas' death in April 2016, opening their inquest into whether any jail staff should be criminally charged for failing to help him.

An inquest is a rarely used legal process that allows prosecutors to question witnesses under oath and in front of a jury before they file any criminal charges. The jury then returns a unanimous verdict as to whether there's probable cause to charge anybody, and what those charges should be.

Prosecutors are not required to follow the jury's verdict. They have not said whom they might consider charging.

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Through an opening statement and testimony from several witnesses, prosecutors laid out how the confluence of the violation of a sheriff's office policy, an unusual jail practice, Thomas' mental illness and inattentiveness by corrections officers led to Thomas' death.

In his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley said surveillance videos show three corrections officers cut off the water in Thomas' cell – a disciplinary measure after Thomas flooded another cell – and never turned it back on. The same officers never documented the water cutoff or notified supervisors, leaving fellow corrections officers in the dark.

"This order to shut off Mr. Thomas' water was highly irregular and contrary to standard operating procedure in the jail," Benkley said.

Benkley added that Thomas apparently didn't receive water or other drinks along with his food. Jail policies called for inmates to drink water from their sinks -- which Thomas couldn't do.

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In theory, Thomas could have caused a commotion over his lack of water. But Benkley said the evidence will show Thomas' bipolar disorder – which the jail's staff knew about – made it apparent he "was unable to tell people about his basic needs." Thomas was in jail following an arrest on charges that he shot a man, drove to the Potawatomi casino and fired two rounds inside the building. Family members said he was in the throes of a mental breakdown.

It remains unclear how much corrections officers knew about Thomas' deteriorating condition. Inmates have previously told the Journal Sentinel they complained to jail staff about Thomas' lack of water. At least 20 corrections officers worked on the solitary confinement wing during the week Thomas was housed there.

Based on the prosecutors' opening statement, it appears clear policies were violated. But prosecutors face a taller task in proving criminal acts.

In prior court filings, prosecutors said the "potential crime" relevant to the inquest is abuse of a prisoner, a low-level felony charge. To prove that charge, prosecutors would have to show jail staff neglected Thomas or knowingly allowed the neglect to occur.

It's expected that most corrections officers will testify they were not aware that Thomas' water was cut off. Decorie Smith, an officer who worked three overnight shifts on Thomas' wing during his incarceration, testified Monday he was never informed Thomas' water was off and Thomas never asked for water.

"If someone requests, 'Can I get my water turned on?' and I find out their water is off, I turn it on," Smith testified. Both Smith and his lieutenant, Jeffrey Andrykowski, said sheriff's office policy does not allow for indefinitely shutting off an inmate's water.

It remains unclear whether any evidence will show Thomas was offered any other forms of water during his solitary confinement stint. Milwaukee County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Wieslawa Tlomak, who performed the autopsy, testified she asked for that information from police, and received nothing to suggest Thomas had access to any water.

Although it likely doesn't factor into his death, Thomas was never once taken out of his solitary confinement cell during his seven days there, prosecutors also noted. Inmates are typically given one hour of recreation time per day.

The inquest is expected to last about five days.