The changes were called for following an audit of the Milwaukee County Jail

Following the release of a report critical of the Milwaukee County Jail, activists and the mothers of two people who died at the facility Monday called for changes and consideration of public input as solutions are developed to problems identified during the audit.

Casey Serrano of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said the process that led to the audit by Texas-based Creative Corrections was “opaque” and included insufficient input from the community and those directly affected.

The audit highlighted systemic problems, including suicide watch practices described as “unsafe”, challenges in managing mental health care, poor management oversight, continuing critical staffing shortages and prisoner crowding, This was reported last week by the Journal Sentinel..

“The Milwaukee Alliance is particularly concerned about inadequate suicide monitoring, lack of use of force protocols and overcrowding,” Serrano said during a news conference.

Looking at former mothers Brieon Green, 21who choked to death with a telephone cord in the reservation area, and 20-year-old Cilivea Thyrion, who choked on an adult diaper while staying in a special needs pod.

“It is my prayer from now on that the families will receive the justice and accountability they need to move forward, and that no other family will have to go through what we have gone through,” said Green’s mother, Laquita Dunlap. “I’m grateful they’re trying to fix the prison so things like this don’t happen in the future, but this should have been addressed by now.”

“My son deserves to be here and I still want responsibility. I want justice,” she added.

Serrano called for a town hall with Sheriff Denita Ball where community members and incarcerated people can voice their opinions before “corrective strategies” are written.

A spokesman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department told the Journal Sentinel last week that for many of the audit’s recommendations, the Sheriff’s Office had made changes or was in the process of making changes. The sheriff’s office oversees the jail.

The changes included training new frontline officers in suicide awareness, prevention and mental health care, as well as creating alternative benches in the booking area and creating a special housing unit team, specially trained to monitor the most critical areas of the prison, according to a spokesman .

The audit was based on six deaths of people in prison between 2022 and 2023, including two confirmed suicides.

The Journal Sentinel’s Vanessa Swales contributed to this story.

Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].