Pro-Trump sheriff blames inmates for dying at his jail
Since April, three inmates and one baby have died at a jail that Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke runs, but he refuses to take responsibility for the deaths, instead blaming the deaths on the inmates themselves.
In one case, a man with mental health issues died of “profound dehydration.” In another, a newborn baby died, and the child’s death has been blamed on jail staff who ignored pleas for help from the pregnant inmate who was carrying the child. Two more inmates suffered medical emergencies in their cells and died as a result of it.
However, Clarke said that the deaths could be attributed to the fact that there were many inmates suffering from medical problems, noting that in many cases those medical problems were exacerbated by inmates’ poor decisions.
— Sheriff David Clarke: Milwaukee riots caused by single mothers —
“Two inmates suffered from … cardiac disease, which became critical when coupled with the effects of hardcore drug usage prior to their incarceration, with their extensive drug histories independently noted in their death investigations,” he said, going on to claim that there was “no pattern or connection” in the deaths, despite the fact that it is unusual to have so many deaths in such a short period of time.
Still, Clarke insists that the jail is not at fault and that if people want someone to blame, they should look to the inmates as well as the jail’s private health care provider.
“If there is a shortcoming here, people have to direct these questions at the medical staff,” Clarke told Watchdog. “That [private] contract is run out of the House of Correction, and they report to the county executive.”
