Still no decision on criminal charges eight months after inquest into inmate's death

More than eight months after an inquest jury concluded Milwaukee County Jail employees may have acted criminally in the 2016 death of inmate Terrill Thomas, District Attorney John Chisholm is still mulling whether to charge anyone.

"I expect a decision shortly," he said last week. He said the post-inquest investigation has "found additional things we've had to look into."

He wouldn't say if that includes the three additional inmate deaths that have occurred since the inquest verdict May 1.

The most recent was Dec. 19, when Carrie Baukus, 46, of Waukesha died while asking for help with withdrawal symptoms, even though she had been granted a $200 signature bond in court the day before.

Jose Torres, 35, was found unresponsive in the jail's mental health unit on Oct. 27, and Clarence Wilson, 51, died of a heart attack in the jail's clinic, where he was taken after complaining of not feeling well.

The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department reviewed or is reviewing all three of the incidents. Chisholm lauded their work. "They do outstanding death-in-custody investigations," he said. "They have a full jail, so they know what should be done."

It's also been more than a year since the county's audit division announced a wide-ranging investigation of whether Armor Correctional Health Services was meeting contract requirements and standards of care. The Miami-based for-profit company provides medical services to both the jail and the House of Correction.

Director of Audits Jerry Heer said Friday he's expecting to get a consultant's report Monday that will be incorporated into the audit. "We're moving along," he said.

There are some signs of change at the jail. Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt called a news conference Thursday to announce "transformational changes" at the jail, mostly due to improved leadership, including several top commanders from the sworn law enforcement ranks.

Among them is a captain in the newly created position of wellness monitor, who will make daily one-on-one contact with inmates in the mental health, medical and discipline units.

Schmidt said the new leadership has hired 19% more correctional officers in recent months, resulting in much less mandatory overtime at the jail.

Shortly before the holidays, the jail and House of Correction switched over to a new, web-based inmate tracking system used by many other jails, replacing one in place at the county since the early 1990s.

Though there have been glitches — like miscalculated release dates or missing courtroom numbers on lists of inmates going to court — Jail Commander Aaron Dobson said the system should provide more information and efficiency as the wrinkles get worked out. It will keep better records of inmate complaints and responses, he said, and reveal problem patterns earlier so they can be addressed.

Schmidt has also asked the National Corrections Institute to review all operations at the jail, but funding issues have stalled the start of that process.

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Since 2001, the jail has been operating under a consent decree entered after a 1996 lawsuit by inmates challenging conditions brought on by poor staffing and health care.

Ronald Shansky, the doctor who monitors the jail, during his 2017 visits found many of the same problems plaguing the jail for years: persistent vacancies among Armor's health care providers, especially nursing. He's also been pushing for a full-time psychiatrist to be staffed at the jail, something Armor said late last year it was getting close to making happen.

At a court hearing last fall on the ongoing case, parties told a judge they were optimistic that with Schmidt taking over at the Sheriff's Office and other developments, they might be able to entertain thoughts of ending the consent decree and finally closing the case this year.

The next status hearing is set for Thursday.

Meanwhile, several federal civil rights trials over deaths or treatment at the jail continue their slow journeys through the system. In September, a federal appeals court reinstated two such cases that had been dismissed in favor of the county.

The estate of Terrill Thomas filed its suit over his death in August, three months after the inquest. Another of the cases is from a woman who gave birth in the jail in July 2016 without anyone noticing, and whose baby then died.