Former Milwaukee correctional officer to be sentenced in case of inmate dehydration death

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – It’s sentencing day for a former Milwaukee County jail guard who was charged in the dehydration death of an inmate.

In April of 2016, James Ramsey-Guy, a former correctional officer, turned off the water to inmate Terrill Thomas' cell.

Thomas was in jail for firing a gun inside Potawatomi Casino. While under arrest, he flooded his cell.

According to the prosecution, Ramsey-Guy physically shut the water off, but never turned it back on.

Thomas died after going without water for seven days. During the trial, prosecutors said Thomas suffered from mental illness, making it difficult for him to ask for help.

However, the defense argued orders to shut the water off came from Thomas’ supervisor, Nancy Evans, the former jail commander, who also was charged with misconduct in office and obstructing an officer.

Ramsey-Guy originally was charged with neglecting an inmate, a felony. He struck a plea deal of no contest to a lesser charge of obstructing an officer, which is a misdemeanor, for lying during the investigation.

A sentencing hearing for Evans is scheduled for March 22.

Kashka Meadors, a third jail staffer, was sentenced to 60 days in jail in connection to the incident.