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Former Milwaukee County Jail Supervisor Sentenced In Dehydration Death Of Inmate

Maayan Silver
A tunnel at the Milwaukee Jail/Courthouse Complex on 9th Street in between State Street and Wells Street.

A former Milwaukee County jail supervisor was sentenced Friday in the dehydration death of inmate Terrill Thomas.

Kashka Meadors received the sentence recommended by the Milwaukee County District Attorney: six months in the House of Correction. Meadors was convicted of felony neglect of a resident of a penal facility.

Thomas suffered from a mental illness. He was in custody on a gun charge in 2016 when officials say he started flooding his cell. Meadors ordered that the water to his cell be shut off. No one turned it back on. Thomas died seven days later.

Two other former jail employees also were charged in Thomas' death. Officials say James Ramsey-Guy, who is awaiting sentencing, turned off the water without notifying workers on subsequent shifts. Nancy Lee Evans is charged with obstruction and misconduct in office and is alleged to have knowingly prevented surveillance tape from being preserved. She is scheduled for trial.

At Meadors' sentencing, Judge Joseph Wall said the case was marked by a succession of failures. “It’s been stated by many individuals throughout the years, most especially by [Russian author] Fyodor Dostoyevsky, that you can judge a society by how well it treats its prisoners."

Maayan is a WUWM news reporter.
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