No Criminal Charges In Malcolm James Jail Death: Racine DA

RACINE, WI — No criminal charges will be filed against any Racine County Sheriff's Office personnel in connection with the June 2021 death of Malcolm James at the Racine County Jail, according to a Racine District Attorney report dated Wednesday.

In the weeks following his death, James' family attorney called the death a homicide, WISN12 reported, saying a private autopsy was inconsistent with the Racine County Sheriff's Office version of events. The sheriff's office asserted that James' death was caused when he had a mental health crisis and that he hit his head against his cell's walls.

After the Racine Sheriff's Office unexpectedly released a video of James before he died, questions also arose about the use of a taser against James prior to his death, but the taser's manufacturer has asserted deaths from taser devices are caused by improper use in different ways, and Journal Times reports the James' family attorney acknowledged the taser may have not had a role in the death as he earlier alleged.

RELATED: Malcolm James Death: Racine Sheriff Releases Jail Video

After months of reviewing video evidence in the case and the opinions of three experts, Racine County District Attorney Tricia Hanson has determined no criminal charges against personnel involved in the death could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, her report made public on the DA's website on Thursday said.

Following the announcement of the decision, James' attorney and family spoke to reporters.

"He didn't need to die," Attorney Kevin O'Conner said, FOX6 News reported. "they killed him," he said among allegations that RCSO personnel had misstepped in how they handled James' leading up to his death, according to the report.

"They try to portray my son as a monster," Sherry James, the mother of Malcolm James, said in the FOX6 report.

The RCSO said an internal review of James' entire stay at the Racine County Jail will continue to move forward to determine the performance of personnel in the jail. The Wisconsin Office of Detention Facilities at the State Department of Corrections is also conducting a review of the circumstances, the RCSO news release said.

Crystal Kristiansen, who was not a Racine County Employee, had her security clearance at the Racine County Jail permanently revoked, and six other correction officers were placed on administrative leave from the RCSO following James' death.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Malcolm James’ family as we work with mental health professionals to improve the services provided to people in need,” Racine Sheriff Schmaling said in the news release. “As Sheriff, I appreciate the professionalism and compassion shown by my correctional officers in attempting to deescalate a volatile situation by speaking to Malcolm James with dignity and respect as they tried to stop him from continuing to harm himself and to get him the medical care he needed.”

“Upon completion of the reviews of this incident, I welcome the opportunity to continue these discussions with the mental health professionals and the community at large to determine how we can all better assist people experiencing mental health issues,” Schmaling said in the news release.

The sheriff's news release quotes several expert opinions the DA relied upon for the decision:

• Jessica Lelinski, Milwaukee County Assistant Medical Examiner: "Despite no physical signs of asphyxia, she ruled the cause of death was asphyxia due to her review of the video recovered in the case. Dr. Lelinski advised that asphyxia is a diagnosis of exclusion when nothing else is obvious," the news release said.
• Tom Neuman, National Expert in Respiratory Physiology and Asphyxia: "Does not agree that asphyxiation was the cause of death: 'Given what appears to be the sequence of events in this case, asphyxiation is essentially impossible,' Neuman said [Neuman Report p1]. He believes Mr. James was not bent forward in a manner for him to have died of asphyxia. Mr. James suffered from significant heart disease, obesity, hypertensive cardiovascular disease and an enlarged heart that would have put him at risk for a sudden cardiac death. Dr. Neuman believes that a cardiac incident was the cause of death," the news release said.
• Darrell Ross, National Expert in Use of Force in Law Enforcement, Corrections: "Through Mr. James’ threatening, self-injurious, and dangerous behaviors, he created the need for the officers to provide him with close supervision. It was clear that Mr. James needed to be controlled, relocated for his safety and seen by medical staff. It would have been inappropriate and cruel to not intervene. The use of force by correction officers was appropriate and reasonable to protect Mr. James," the news release said.

You can read the full report on the decision to not press criminal charges from the District Attorney online.

James' death came only days after the separate death of a man in custody at the Racine County Jail. Ronquale Ditello-Scott Jr. was arrested on May 29 but died only hours after he was taken into custody, the sheriff's office reported at the time.

Sheriff's staff members found Ditello-Scott in his cell not breathing and attempted to revive him unsuccessfully, the sheriff's office said. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner has since called his death an accidental overdose, The Journal Times reported.