A taste of honey! It’s not just a sweetener. We learn how to showcase this bee-treat. We also talk to a writer about why he thinks that Reagan’s and JFK’s approaches to the economy weren’t so different after all, and to the journalist who reported that the death of an inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail was ruled a homicide.
Featured in this Show
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JFK And Reagan – Were Their Economic Approaches Not As Different As You Might Think?
As we get closer and closer to the presidential election, the one issue that still rises to the top is the economy. While the country has shown slow and steady economic progress since the Great Recession, many Americans are still either out of work, or struggling with stagnating wages…and voters want to know what their candidate of choice will do in order to turn things around. Two authors say it’s time to look to a free-market, tax-cutting approach that was once championed by Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. They explain why this approach was once supported by both a Democratic and Republican president, and why it could work again.
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Milwaukee County Jail Inmate's Death Ruled Homicide
Autopsy results for an inmate who had died at the Milwaukee County Jail were released yesterday by the county medical examiner’s office. His death, caused by dehydration, was ruled a homicide. We talk to a reporter who covered the story.
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Reporter: Charges Not Necessarily Coming After Inmate's Death Ruled A Homicide
The death of a Milwaukee County Jail inmate has been ruled a homicide by the county’s medical examiner’s office, but that doesn’t necessarily mean criminal charges will be brought, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
The medical examiner’s office announced Thursday that the death of Terrill Thomas, 38, was a homicide due to “profound dehydration,” the newspaper reports.
Thomas was found dead in his cell on April 24, nine days after he was arrested for firing gunshots inside the Potawatomi casino.
“It does not necessarily mean that someone committed a crime, or someone will be charged with a crime,” Journal Sentinel investigative reporter Cara Lombardo said of Thomas’ death. “It means that a death took place at the hands of another person.”
Family members and friends have said that Thomas was acting strange for several days leading up to the shooting. After his arrest, Thomas was brought to the county jail and placed in a normal cell. Lombardo said correctional officers moved him into a segregation unit several days later for acting erratically.
Nearby inmates told Lombardo that Thomas’ water was shut off the first day he arrived in the segregation unit.
“One of (the inmates) asked a correctional officer about it,” said Lombardo. “This inmate said he was told that because Terrill had been acting so erratically, they needed to shut off his water so that he wouldn’t make a mess in his cell.”
Over the next several days, at least two inmates allegedly urged officers to give Thomas water, who they say was spending most of his days naked, laying on the ground of his cell and shouting.
State law requires that an outside agency review all in-custody deaths. But the law doesn’t technically apply to the sheriff’s department, which oversees the county jail facility. However, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm decided to appoint an outside agency, the Milwaukee Police Department, to investigate the case. Lombardo said Chisholm will review the findings and decide whether to press charges.
Thomas’ family members are left wondering why authorities did not conduct a more robust health evaluation, especially given his history of mental health issues. Thomas had previously spent time in the county’s mental health complex, according to family members. Thomas’ mother, Celia Thomas, told Lombardo her son overcame periods of erratic behavior in the past after receiving treatment.
According to the Journal Sentinel, Thomas was awaiting a court-order psychiatric examination when he died.
“(His mother) is concerned that if he had been sent elsewhere, or if he had gotten faster medical attention, this could’ve all been avoided,” Lombardo said.
According to a Journal Sentinel investigation, there were 18 in-custody deaths in Milwaukee, 10 of which were in the county jail, over a five-year period ending in 2012. Lombardo said that in at least one of those cases, an inmate had his water cut off. However, the medical examiner in that case ruled that the death was due to complications of a psychotic disorder.
After talking with lawyers representing the families of deceased inmates, Lombardo said shutting down the water supply into a cell appears to be a technique used by correctional officers.
“This is obviously something that does happen,” she said. “While this shouldn’t happen frequently, it is unfortunately a technique that is sometimes used to discipline inmates, cutting off water access for a period of time.”
The sheriff’s department said in a statement it does not plan to make any comments on the case until both all investigations and potential civil suits are closed. Lombardo said that could be months, perhaps even years away.
Thomas’ family members told Lombardo they are considering their legal options.
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Food Friday: Cooking With Honey
September is National Honey Month, so for this Food Friday, we talk about sweet and savory appetizers, entrees, drinks, and desserts infused with honey.
Episode Credits
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Veronica Rueckert Host
- Chris Malina Producer
- Haleema Shah Producer
- Lawrence Kudlow Guest
- Brian Domitrovic Guest
- Cara Lombardo Guest
- Zeke Freeman Guest
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