Prosecutors: Milwaukee jail withheld water as punishment

FILE- In this July 18, 2016, file photo, David Clarke, Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., speaks during the opening day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. A jury on Monday, May 1, 2017, recommended criminal charges against seven Milwaukee County jail staffers in the dehydration death of an inmate who went without water for seven days. The jail is overseen by Clarke, but the inquest did not target him. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (The Associated Press)

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee prosecutors say the county sheriff's office continued using water deprivation as a form of punishment at its jail even after an inmate had died of dehydration.

The District Attorney's Office presented jail logs to jurors Monday showing two inmates were disciplined by having water to their cells shut off in the weeks after Terrill Thomas died.

Prosecutors say the 38-year-old Thomas died April 24, 2016, after he was deprived of water for seven days because he had flooded a cell.

Prosecutors are conducting an inquest for a jury to determine whether criminal charges against jail staff are warranted.

Sheriff David Clarke runs the jail. He has repeatedly declined to comment on Thomas' death aside from highlighting the inmate's criminal record.

The prosecution expects to conclude its case later Monday.