Lawsuit Over Dehydration Death in David Clarke's Jail Settle for $6.75 Million

[mahatmakanejeeves]

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Three years ago, a man died of thirst in a jail run by former Sheriff David Clarke. A lawsuit filed by the man's estate has now settled for $6.75 million, one of the highest settlements in a jail death lawsuit on record.

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POLITICS 05/28/2019 05:53 pm ET
Lawsuit Over Dehydration Death In David Clarke’s Jail Settles For $6.75M
“What happened to Terrill Thomas was a form of torture,” said an attorney for his family.

By Ryan J. Reilly

The family of a man who died of “profound dehydration” inside a jail run by prominent Trump supporter and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has settled with the county and a health care company $6.75 million, one of the largest settlements in connection with a jail death in the United States.

Terrill Thomas died in April 2016, about six days after guards at a Milwaukee jail cut off his water supply. Other inmates reported hearing him beg for water before his death. Attorneys for the estate declined to specify how much of the settlement would be paid by Milwaukee County and how much would come from Armor Correctional Health Services Inc.

The lawsuit specifically named Clarke, claiming he “knowingly sanctioned” the decision to cut off inmates’ water supplies. The Thomas estate’s claims against Clarke and the other defendants were dismissed as part of the settlement.

“The amount of pain and suffering that Terrill Thomas went through is really hard to comprehend, and a ton of this is captured on video,” James End, an attorney with First, Albrecht & Blondis who worked on the Thomas case, told HuffPost. “The amount of suffering that Mr. Thomas went through was just tremendous, and that I think would be recognized by any person who took any time to listen to the facts of this case.”

“What happened to Terrill Thomas was a form of torture,” said Erik Heipt, one of the attorneys representing the Thomas estate. “He was a mentally ill man who needed help. Instead, he was deprived of life-sustaining nourishment — water. This is the sort of atrocity that should never happen in an American jail. Ever. There’s no excuse for it.”
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[hlthe2b]

1. Yet Clarke evades any responsibility whatseover. That is just wrong.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

2. Death by dehydration is nothing short of torture.

The body rebels and actually begins to consume itself. Before the end, insanity ensues as the brain, desperate for water starts to digest itself. This is a horrific way to die.

This man was not sentenced to death, yet this "officer of the law" enabled exactly that to happen in the most savage manner possible.

Clark should be held accountable and punished accordingly.