Fair audit now! Milwaukee demands community control over jail audit

Milwaukee, WI – On Monday, November 25, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression held a press conference to comment on the recent findings of the jail audit that was released the week before. Two inmates’ mothers, Laquita Dunlap and Kerrie Hirte, spoke of their fights for justice and accountability.

The audit was conducted with input from fewer than 40 inmates, and with no public transparency or input whatsoever. The public expected to hear a preliminary report in December with the full audit report coming in 2025. Instead, the entire report was released suddenly and without any forewarning in November of 2024.

​The audit claims that the “mental health department at the Milwaukee County Jail stands out as a significant strength.” In fact, the audit took no input from families of loved ones who committed suicide in the Milwaukee County Jail.

Kerrie Hirte, the mother of Cilivea Thyrion, stated with teary eyes that her daughter was “tased, being picked on and her rights were not given.” Both Thyrion and her mother asked for her to be visited by a chaplain, and the jail denied it. Then, on December 12, 2022, Thyrion died of suicide in the Milwaukee County Jail at age 20. 

​Laquita Dunlap, the mother of Breion Green, also attended the press conference on Monday. Her son arrived at the Milwaukee County Jail in June of 2022 and committed suicide in less than an hour after being admitted.

The MAARPR statement stressed the importance of community input in this audit and highlighted the hypocrisy of some of the claims. While the audit reports that the mental health facilities of the jail are superb, another part of the audit explains how faulty the facility is. Auditors report watching an individual attempt suicide in a holding cell in front of them. They also report that the windows in cells which hold people on suicide watch are so dirty and full of scratches, that the guards are unable to conduct wellness checks on inmates, thus rendering the “constant” surveillance ineffective.

There is a great urgency around the jail audit. Milwaukee families and activists wants to know what is happening in the jail and how the deaths can be stopped. Six people died in the County Jail in an 18-month period from June 2022 to August 2023, and people incarcerated there can remain trapped for years. The Milwaukee Alliance statement demanded community input over the corrective strategies the County will put in place after the audit and promised to keep up the fight for transparency and accountability from the sheriff. 

#MilwaukeeWI #CCOP #InJusticeSystem #MAARPR