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Nurse failed to give now dead jail inmate ‘basic’ care: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 08:25:33 +0000

Del Shea Perry, second from left, mother of Hardel Sherrell who died from a medical condition in a Minnesota prison, walks with supporters while marching during a protest near the St. Paul, Minn. governor’s mansion Saturday, June 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A nurse at a county jail in Minnesota is facing a manslaughter charge nearly six years after an inmate under her care died in a case that’s already resulted in a $2.6 million lawsuit and a new law in the victim’s name to ensure something like that never happens again.

Michelle Rose Skroch, now 37, is facing charges of second-degree manslaughter culpable negligence and two counts of felony criminal neglect, one for “knowingly depriving” inmate Hardel Sherrell of medical care and the second for doing so for an “extended period of time.” A criminal complaint says the 27-year-old Sherrell was booked into the Beltrami County Jail on Aug. 24, 2018. While his blood pressure was high, he was otherwise in good condition in his initial health screening. He had a history of high blood pressure and a recent incident of respiratory failure, the complaint said.

Three days after arriving at the jail, Sherrell began complaining of chest pain and said his fingers on his left hand were tingly. Doctors performed an EKG and gave him ibuprofen, Tylenol and an anti-anxiety medication. Sherrell also stated he had stopped taking his blood pressure medication in January 2018.

Sherrell’s condition continued to worsen over the ensuing days and kept falling out of his bunk bed and was unable to stand up. He said he was unable to feel his legs. A nurse went to check on him on Aug. 31, 2018, and found him lying on a mat in his cell and not able to move. His mouth also was drooping and his speech was slurred.

A jail doctor opined that Sherrell may be suffering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. Sherrell went to the hospital where an emergency room physician diagnosed him with “malingering and weakness” as he was able to move his legs. They sent him back to jail after an MRI found no abnormalities, the complaint said. The ER doc instructed him to return to the hospital if he had a fever, signs of stoke and/or worsening weakness.

Skroch, who worked for MEnD Correctional Care, LLC which was contracted to provide medical services at the jail, came to work on Sept. 1, 2018, and was advised about Sherrell’s condition. When she went to see him, she allegedly just stood at his cell door and “never conducted a standard, basic nursing assessment.” She told Sherrell to “get up and walk” and that “there was nothing wrong with him and he could get up and walk if he wanted to,” according to the complaint. Sherrell “pleaded” for medical attention but Skroch allegedly said she “would not bargain with him.”

The defendant never collected vital signs or other physical examinations despite him being unable to eat, drink or go to the bathroom on his own, cops allege. He fell out of his cot six times in two hours, per the complaint.

Skroch returned to work on Sept. 2, 2018, and found correctional officers trying to bathe him. Instead of helping, the nurse started “basically screaming at [Sherrell] telling him he’s faking” his illness, the complaint said. She did not take vital signs nor perform any medical or neurological assessments.

She reportedly told the jail doctor that Sherrell’s condition was slightly improved and he was doing better than the day before. Per the complaint, Skroch later that day noted that the inmate was sleeping “comfortably” and had “no distress in his breathing.” However surveillance video reportedly showed Sherrell taking rapid, shallow breaths, prosecutors wrote. She allegedly told jail guards that Sherrell was “perfectly fine.”

Correctional officers found Sherrell unresponsive around 4:46 p.m. and doctors pronounced him dead shortly thereafter. An autopsy determined he died of pneumonia and cerebral edema, which is swelling of brain tissue. A outside pathologist labeled the cause of death as complications from Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

A correctional health expert who reviewed the case said Skroch failed at “the most basic nursing care” such as taking Sherrell’s vitals or other basic medical assessments. She had enough education and experience to know something was seriously wrong with the inmate, the expert reportedly determined.

“He concluded that ‘[t]he failure to obtain any vital signs on a critically ill patient over two days is such a tremendous breach in the standard of care that it is tantamount to an abandonment of the most basic professional responsibilities of a nurse,’” prosecutors wrote.

Had she treated the patient, he likely would have survived, according to medical experts.

Sherrell’s mother sued and won a $2.6 million settlement against the county and MEnD, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. State lawmakers passed the “Hardel Sherrell Act” that gives the Department of Corrections more oversight over county jails, local NBC outlet KARE reported. Skroch’s nursing license has since been revoked, according to the TV station.

Cops arrested Skroch on Friday. She has a court date scheduled for April 11.

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Prison doc normalized abuse of inmate with small talk: Suit

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 09:11:01 +0000

Background: Deer Ridge Correctional Institution (KTVZ/YouTube). Inset: Inside Deer Ridge (KMTR/YouTube).

A prison doctor in Oregon is accused of normalizing his sexual abuse of an inmate with talks about horses, art and lunch — sometimes laughing in his face about the alleged assaults — while his higher-ups turned a blind eye, a new lawsuit says.

James Watkins, now a free man, alleges he was abused “over a course of months” by Oregon Department of Corrections physician Dr. Leland Beamer, who is chief medical officer at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Jefferson County.

Watkins’ lawyers, Alicia LeDuc Montgomery and Elisabeth Claus, say he suffered from “physical pain and continues to suffer from personal humiliation, fear, anxiety, and mental and emotional distress” as a result of the abuse and have filed a lawsuit in federal court against DOC officials and employees, including Beamer and Deer Ridge’s former superintendent Amber Sundquist, who is accused of ignoring complaints and lawsuits regarding ODOC medical employees like Beamer who are “sexually harassing or abusing adults in custody at DOC facilities,” according to Watkins’ suit.

“Between November 2022, and January 2023, plaintiff Watkins was treated by Dr. Beamer during approximately five medical appointments,” the complaint says. “Beamer’s actions toward plaintiff Watkins in subsequent medical appointments became increasingly inappropriate and harmful.”

During one exam, Beamer allegedly made “uncomfortable personal remarks” and “engaged in inappropriate touching” of Watkins’ legs and arms — commenting on how “big” he was, the complaint says. Beamer allegedly tried plying Watkins with offers of “personal favors” and promises of future lunch dates once he got out, where they’d be “talking about horses” Beamer owns and discussing ways he can “help Watkins with his art,” the complaint said.

Watkins began seeing Beamer after he slipped on water and fell in the DRCI kitchen area, leading to a back injury and appointments for injections. Beamer’s alleged abuse started with normal examinations for the injections before the doctor began requesting more “uncomfortable” procedures and committing “inappropriate” acts, like “open-palm slapping” Watkins on his bare buttocks and carrying out an alleged sphincter exam on him that made the former inmate feel “sexually violated,” according to his lawyers.

“Defendant Beamer performed a sphincter exam on plaintiff Watkins,” the complaint says, noting how Beamer allegedly “laughed” at the end of the procedure.

“Watkins felt uncomfortable with the idea of the exam, but defendant Beamer insisted on proceeding,” the document says. “Defendant Beamer heard plaintiff Watkins tell him to stop touching plaintiff and to stop the ‘exam.’ But defendant Beamer did not stop the ‘exam’ after plaintiff Watkins objected.”

In addition to physical pain, Watkins says he was “subsequently diagnosed with PTSD” after the alleged incidents. He claims to have “exhausted all administrative remedies” regarding the alleged abuse after filing “grievances and appeals” to no avail. Watkins’ only option left at this point, per his lawyers, was to file a federal lawsuit, which falls in line with what other inmates have done in recent years.

“The Oregon Department of Corrections has been on notice for years about its systemic problem of sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates by prison staff,” LeDuc Montgomery said in a statement this week, which pointed to similar cases like the 2023 conviction of former prison nurse Tony Klein, who was sentenced to 30 years for abusing female inmates.

“This is not a case of a male prison official raping female inmates, but that is precisely why this case is important,” she told Law&Crime on Thursday. “If the Oregon Department of Corrections lets any form of sexual abuse slide under the radar, it enables the culture and environment that leads to egregious events like we saw with the Tony Klein prosecution. ODOC needs to take bodily autonomy and safety seriously, and hold perpetrators of any form of sexual misconduct accountable.”

Watkins is suing for damages, attorney fees and costs to “redress the violations of his constitutional and state law rights caused by [Beamer’s] misconduct.”

Attempts by Law&Crime to reach DOC officials and Beamer on Thursday were unsuccessful.

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Inmate uses code words to put out hit using jail phone: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 11:29:22 +0000

Jebea Johnson (Flagler County Jail).

A Florida man already behind bars is facing even more jail time after he allegedly tried to put out a hit on a fellow gang member.

Jebea Johnson, 22, has been in the Flagler County Jail since June on burglary and attempted robbery with a deadly firearm charges. About a month ago, deputies became aware of a series of phone calls between Johnson and his family members in which he tried to get one of them to post a message on social media that would put a hit on a man who wanted to leave the gang, the agency said in a press release.

More on Law&Crime: Casino cafe manager offers employee raise to murder romantic rival after girlfriend dumped him for ex-husband

According to deputies, Johnson and the victim had been serving time together in the jail. Johnson had tried to recruit the man into the Kutt Throat Committee prison and street gang, per police, but the victim decided to leave the gang. Apparently upset, Johnson allegedly had a family member post a message on social media with “coded gang language” that would signal members on the outside to murder the victim.

Detectives interviewed family members who confirmed there was a message posted on Johnson’s behalf, but they were unaware it had an alternative meaning. Law enforcement scuttled the alleged plot before anyone could carry it out.

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Death row inmate held in solitary confinement for 26 years can sue, federal appeals court rules

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 15:10:57 +0000

Criminal Justice

Death row inmate held in solitary confinement for 26 years can sue, federal appeals court rules

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 26, 2024, 9:22 am CDT

A death row inmate with a known history of serious mental illness can sue Pennsylvania’s corrections chief for holding him in solitary confinement for 26 years, a federal appeals court ruled last week. (Image from Shutterstock)

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Philadelphia ruled 2-1 that inmate Roy L. Williams can sue for alleged violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The Associated Press covered the Sept. 20 decision.

The prison chief did not have qualified immunity because “individuals with a known history of serious mental illness have a clearly established right not to be subjected to prolonged, indefinite solitary confinement—without penological justification—by an official who was aware of that history,” wrote Senior Judge Theodore McKee, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, citing a prior case.

Williams was in solitary confinement between 1993 and 2019, when the state corrections department changed its policy because of a legal settlement. But the department was on notice that its policy was cruel and unusual because of a 2014 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, McKee said.

The report said harsh solitary confinement for extended periods of time for prisoners with serious mental illness and intellectual disability “constitutes precisely the type of indifference to excessive risk of harm the Eighth Amendment prohibits.”

Judge Peter J. Phipps, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, dissented.

The majority “ignores this court’s precedent and misapplies foundational principles,” Phipps wrote.

Williams, who was convicted for killing a construction worker, had mental health issues since childhood, according to the opinion. He was 14 years old when he was involuntarily committed for suicidal threats and violent behavior.

Williams was represented by the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which has filed similar lawsuits over solitary confinement.

Williams’ case “is the first to go up on appeal,” said Matthew Feldman, a supervising lawyer with the group, in an interview with the Associated Press. “So I think this opinion definitely will help all those other men whose cases are currently pending in trial courts right now.”

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Lawyer chooses lethal injection for inmate who didn’t want to make decision

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 06:25:27 +0000

Death Penalty

Lawyer chooses lethal injection for inmate who didn’t want to make decision

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 10, 2024, 8:50 am CDT

A South Carolina lawyer has picked lethal injection as the execution method for a client who didn’t want to make the decision because of religious qualms. (Image from Shutterstock)

A South Carolina lawyer has picked lethal injection as the execution method for a client who didn’t want to make the decision because of religious qualms.

Lawyer Emily Paavola of Columbia, South Carolina, said in a statement she made the best decision that she thought was possible on behalf of her client, Freddie Owens, given the information available to her, Law.com reports.

Owens didn’t want to make the decision because he considers the choice to be tantamount to suicide, which his Muslim religion considers a sin, according to the Associated Press.

If Paavola had not made the choice, Owens would be executed by the state’s default method, the electric chair. A third option is a firing squad.

Owens’ execution for the 1997 shooting death of a store clerk is scheduled for Sept. 20. In the past, South Carolina has used a three-drug combination in executions but switched to just one drug, pentobarbital, because it was easier to obtain.

In a statement that Paavola gave to the AP and Law.com, she said she made the decision “in light of the information currently available to me.” She had sought more information from the state about testing and storage of the drug to ensure that it would not cause her client unbearable pain or agony.

But the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled last week that prison officials had released sufficient details, according to Law.com, the AP and the Post and Courier.

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Gang member used shank with Nazi symbol to kill inmate

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 20:50:09 +0000

Inset: Jason Corbett (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation). Background: The location Corbett and another member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang killed an inmate at High Desert State Prison in California. (U.S. Attorney’s Office).

A member of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood prison gang in California will spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting to stabbing to death an inmate for lying about being a member of the gang.

Jason “Jake” Corbett, 52, was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison for murder in aid of racketeering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.

A second co-defendant in the murder, Pat “Big Pat” Brady, 54, pleaded guilty on Jan. 3, and was sentenced to life in prison last month, prosecutors said.

Three others were found guilty of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) conspiracy, conspiracy to murder, murder in aid of racketeering, and multiple counts of drug trafficking in April 2024. A sixth defendant pleaded guilty in the drug trafficking conspiracy. Charges against a seventh defendant are pending.

Pequeen was murdered on July 20, 2018, at about 2:15 p.m. in the D facility at High Desert State Prison in Susanville prison as part of a “planned, coordinated hit,” court documents said. Susanville is about 300 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Pequeen was targeted not only because of his bogus claim about being a member of the Aryan Brotherhood but because he also owed a big drug debt at a previous prison, prosecutors said. He was killed after he began talking to Brady, as seen on prison surveillance video, officials said. While Pequeen was distracted by Brady, Corbett came up from behind Pequeen, removed a prison-made weapon, and began stabbing Pequeen repeatedly in the back, court documents said.

As Pequeen tried to flee, Brady removed his weapon from his waistband. Pequeen ran. Brady and Corbett chased him down. They caught him with the help of two others. Brady then stabbed Pequeen in the upper back.

Pequeen fell to the ground. Prison guards ordered all inmates to “get down.” But Corbett and Brady continued their attack, stabbing Pequeen repeatedly in the head, neck, and torso as Pequeen — bleeding profusely from his neck and torso — tried to defend himself against his attackers, who held him down and continued stabbing him.

As corrections officers closed in on the attackers, Corbett and Brady stood up, walked away, and dropped their weapons.

Investigators noted that one of the murder weapons had “SS” lightning bolts etched into its side.

“This symbol on one of the murder weapons is meant to send a message to other inmates that Pequeen’s murder was a hit carried out by the Aryan Brotherhood because the enterprise often uses symbols from Nazi Germany to demonstrate its strength within the prison system,” court documents said.

Pequeen was declared dead at about 2:52 p.m., 37 minutes after the attack began. His body had more than 10 puncture wounds in his head, neck, and torso.

Corbett and Brady had Pequeen’s blood on their inmate clothing and shoes, which were collected and preserved as evidence of the murder. Investigators believe that the attackers killed Pequeen to maintain their position with the Aryan Brotherhood. The stylized weapon was meant to send a message to other inmates who would defy the enterprise, court documents said.

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Inmate crawled across jail intake to ‘rape’ woman: Sheriff

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 01:42:08 +0000

Background: Justin Avery is allegedly seen crawling past an officer at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Intake Transfer and Release Facility (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office/KNXV/YouTube). Inset: Justin Avery (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office).

An Arizona man facing assault charges is potentially in even more trouble after allegedly sneaking around jail guards in order to commit sexual assault.

Justin Avery had been detained in April for allegedly assaulting multiple women near the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV reported. Video released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office appears to show Avery at the Intake Transfer and Release Facility days after his arrest, crawling backward along the edge of an official’s desk.

According to reports, Avery did successfully reach his target, allegedly making his way behind a woman who was asleep and lowering his pants.

Another woman who witnessed Avery’s actions allegedly told him to “get off her,” and Avery allegedly responded by telling the woman to be quiet. The exchange got the attention of an officer, who then called for backup.

He reportedly told police that he had crawled like a “spider” toward his intended target. He also — in crude language — told investigators that he was drawn to the woman’s physical appearance and that he did indeed intend to “rape” her, KNXV reported, citing court records.

Avery was subsequently charged with an additional count of sexual assault.

Maricopa County authorities say the situation involving Avery is extremely unusual.

“We’re appalled by inmate Avery’s actions at our [Intake Transfer and Release] facility,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement emailed to Law&Crime. “This was a unique incident and the first of its kind in four years, since the ITR facility was open.”

The sheriff’s office said that mirrors have been added “for better monitoring in the blind spots that were identified,” and a review of procedures was conducted.

“The safety of staff and inmates is our top priority, and we’re committed to ensuring this doesn’t happen again,” the statement said, adding: “Inmate Avery has been reclassified due to his institutional behavior.”

According to court documents, Avery has a court hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

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Inmate, alleged accomplice might have killed 2: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 08:42:54 +0000

Skylar Meade, top left and top and bottom center, and Nicholas Umphenour, bottom left, face charges in an escape from a hospital in Idaho. (Photos from Boise police)

A white supremacist prison gang member and his suspected accomplice accused of helping him escape from a hospital in Idaho in an attack that wounded three corrections officers are suspected of killing two people during their 36 hours on the run from law enforcement, authorities said.

Skylar Meade, 31, a state prison inmate, and his accomplice Nicholas Umphenour, 28, were arrested on Thursday afternoon in Twin Falls after a short police pursuit, according to police.

The ordeal started at 2:15 a.m. when Idaho Department of Corrections officers transported Meade to Saint Alphonsus for medical treatment, officials said. Meade had been transferred to the hospital after he had injured himself in prison, state prison officials said in a news conference.

As Meade was being taken back to the state lockup, his suspected accomplice fired at the officers, hitting two of them, officials said. A Boise police officer, who responded to the hospital on a report of an active shooter, fired his weapon at an armed person, who was later determined to be a state corrections worker. That worker was not seriously injured. A second officer was in critical but stable condition. A third suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The suspects fled in a Honda Civic when the police arrived.

Police suspect the two men in two homicides while on the run and believe they are linked by a shackle found at the scene of one of the homicides, KTVB reported. Details about the cases were not immediately revealed.

Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar called the case a brazen, violent, and coordinated attack on Idaho Department of Corrections personnel carried out in front of the hospital’s emergency department. The two men possibly had planned it when they were in prison together, the news outlet reported.

Winegar was thankful nobody was killed in the hospital attack.

“I am grateful this harrowing incident did not result in loss of life, and we are monitoring the wounded IDOC officers with great hope for a full and speedy recovery of all involved,” he said.

Meade has been incarcerated since October 2016, serving prison time for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a firearm enhancement, officials said. His most recent sentence was set to end in October 2036, authorities said.

He has convictions for felony possession of a controlled substance, grand theft, and introduction of contraband into a correctional facility, officials said.

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Alabama ready to help other states with ‘humane’ nitrogen executions after gas caused inmate to ‘shake and writhe’

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 18:45:42 +0000

Death Penalty

Alabama ready to help other states with ‘humane’ nitrogen executions after gas caused inmate to ‘shake and writhe’

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 30, 2024, 8:58 am CST

Alabama is ready to help other states carry out “humane” nitrogen gas executions after using it for the first time Thursday to kill inmate Kenneth Smith, the state’s attorney general has said. (Image from Shutterstock)

Alabama is ready to help other states carry out “humane” nitrogen gas executions after using it for the first time Thursday to kill inmate Kenneth Smith, the state’s attorney general has said.

Republican Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the execution “humane” in a Jan. 25 press release, even though a report by a reporter from the Associated Press said Smith “began to shake and writhe violently, in thrashing spasms and seizure-like movements” after the execution began. The shaking continued for at least two minutes.

The U.N. Human Rights Office and the European Union criticized the execution method, USA Today reports.

In a press conference Friday, Marshall said Alabama stands ready to help other states with nitrogen hypoxia executions, Reuters reports.

“Alabama has done it, and now so can you,” he said.

Oklahoma and Mississippi have approved nitrogen gas executions, according to Reuters.

Marshall also indicated that 43 other Alabama inmates have sought nitrogen gas executions.

Smith was executed for his role in the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett, a pastor’s wife. The pastor, who later killed himself, allegedly sought the murder to collect on an insurance policy.

Smith was initially scheduled for execution in November 2022, but executioners were unable to insert an intravenous line before the death warrant expired.

The U.S. Supreme Court had twice declined to stop the execution, in decisions Jan. 24 and 25, the New York Times reports.

On Jan. 24, the Supreme Court refused to block the execution based on the argument that the second try constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

On Jan. 25, the high court refused to act based on an argument that Alabama wasn’t ready to try the untested execution method, subjecting him to an unconstitutional risk of cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices dissented.

“Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its ‘guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent.

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Lawsuit filed after inmate with bipolar disorder kills self

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 10:21:24 +0000

Waupun Correctional Institution (Image from the state’s website)

An inmate classified as among the most severely mentally ill killed himself in solitary confinement at a Wisconsin state prison after officials failed to provide adequate mental health care and medications, the man’s daughter alleges in a federal lawsuit filed this week.

Dean Henry Hoffmann, 60, died in June at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI), a beleaguered facility with chronic inadequate staffing and inmate overcrowding, more than an hour northwest of Milwaukee.

“Every day I fight for some type of change within the system, and I’m hoping that this really drives that home, and something like this — holding them accountable — will lead to change,” Megan Hoffmann Kolb told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Prison officials declined to comment, citing a policy against commenting on pending litigation, the newspaper reported.

Court documents obtained by Law&Crime outline the events leading up to Hoffmann’s suicide after he was sentenced last February to 28 years in prison after his conviction for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

Hoffmann had a history of mental illness that included bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and anti-social personality disorder, court documents said.

Before his trial, he had been deemed by mental health professionals and the court as being mentally ill but competent to stand trial, even though there was strenuous disagreement, the lawsuit said. In custody, he was categorized as “MH-2A,” the most severe category of mental illness, court documents said.

On April 10, Hoffmann was transferred to WCI with about 30 days of medication. When he went in, the facility had been locked down for safety reasons after some inmates had broken prison rules, court documents said. Because of lockdown restrictions, Hoffmann was never given a psychological exam and had received only some of his prescribed medications, the lawsuit alleges. He had only been able to use the phone twice in the first weeks. Guards unplugged the phone on him mid-conversation in one call.

He asked for medical treatment and showed serious symptoms of mental illness, including severe anxiety, paranoia, pressured speech, poor judgment, poor insight, loss of appetite, weight loss and insomnia, court documents said.

His frustrations mounted on June 20, when he refused to return to his cell after showering, citing “fear of his safety because of threats his cellmate made to him,” the lawsuit said.

When guards ordered him into his cell, he refused. He was handcuffed and escorted into the prison’s Restricted Housing Unit for “a minor incident despite Mr. Hoffmann expressing concerns for his safety.”

While in solitary, Hoffmann began to rapidly deteriorate mentally and physically.

On June 24, a nurse observed Hoffmann in his solitary cell, but it was only a visual check. There was no report he had had a psychological exam. Prison records showed he had not been administered medications consistently. A prison log showed that some medication distribution was marked as “refused” even though it may or may not have ever been offered, the lawsuit alleges. Nighttime medications were being offered in the morning, court documents said.

Then Hoffmann began “hearing voices” and “couldn’t sleep,” court documents said an inmate reported. When Hoffmann informed staff the voices told him to kill himself, an officer charged with monitoring him reportedly told him, “‘he didn’t care,’ or words to that effect, if Mr. Hoffmann were to kill himself,” court documents said.

There was no record of Hoffmann ever receiving psychological services while he was in solitary, even though officials noted in a report about his refusal to go back into his cell on June 20 as creating “a risk of serious disruption at the facility or community” and checked a box for “Psychological services input for serious mentally ill inmate.”

Hoffmann was discovered cold and pale in his cell at 6:45 a.m. on June 29. The lawsuit said he was cut down, restrained, laid on the floor, and given chest compressions. Guards called 911 seven minutes after discovering him. He was declared dead at 7:25 a.m.

Photos from his cell show his last meal — a partially eaten bagged dinner given to him at 4:22 the previous evening. His garbage hadn’t been picked up.

Three days after Hoffmann’s death, the prison’s psychological associate wrote a report regarding her June 26 interaction with Hoffmann, court documents said.

The prison — Wisconsin’s oldest — is the subject of a class-action lawsuit over “cruel and unusual conditions of confinement” during the monthslong lockdown in a case that was also filed by Kalb’s attorney, The Wisconsin Examiner reported.

The Hoffmann lawsuit said that even though the prison had a written policy requiring visual supervision of inmates in solitary confinement, officers were often distracted and even sleeping at their posts.

“There was a general lack of empathy and callous mistreatment by WCI correctional officers toward inmates with mental illness, which included mocking them and referring to them by demeaning nicknames,” court documents said. “There was a pervasive attitude of indifference by correctional officers and mental health staff toward inmates. Rather than provide necessary mental health care, staff often dismissed problems by saying, ‘That’s just what he does.’

“Based on defendants’ actions, Mr. Hoffmann suffered cruel and unusual punishment by unnecessarily suffering mental health issues that resulted in suicide.”

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