Report: Milwaukee inmate died of natural causes

A Milwaukee County inmate died of natural causes while incarcerated at the Milwaukee County Jail in October, according to an autopsy report obtained by a Madison-based conservative news outlet.

Medical examiners concluded that Michael Madden, 29, of Franklin, died of infective endocarditis with myocarditis -- an infection of the heart with inflammation -- at the downtown jail, according to the report obtained by Wisconsin Watchdog.

Madden's mother, Gail Stockton, previously told the Journal Sentinel that her son suffered from two congenital heart conditions.

Stockton was upset to learn Saturday that the autopsy had been leaked to a publication when she, as his mother, had not received a copy or been contacted by the Sheriff's Office about its findings. She said she did not know how her son died until she read the Wisconsin Watchdog report.

"I find it interesting that Wisconsin Watchdog has now twice received information that, as Mike's mother, I have not been entitled to," Stockton said in an email to the Journal Sentinel. "I'm very curious as to who is giving them the information."

Madden was one of four people to die at the Milwaukee County Jail in 2016. No investigating agency has released findings about whether the actions or inaction of staff at the jail contributed to any of the deaths.

In April, 38-year-old Terrill Thomas died in his cell of profound dehydration, and the Medical Examiner's Office classified the death as a homicide. In July, a newborn died about an hour after jail staff discovered an inmate had given birth in her cell without anybody noticing; an autopsy report showed the manner and cause of death is undetermined. In August, 38-year-old Kristina Fiebrink was found dead in her cell; Wisconsin Watchdog reported that her death was due to heart disease. 

Stockton, has said her son suffered from aortic stenosis, a valve disease that restricts blood flow, and mitral valve prolapse, a condition that can cause blood to leak in the wrong direction. Madden wasn't prescribed any medications for the conditions, and he received a clean bill of health about 18 months before his death, Stockton said.

Madden had also been addicted to drugs for about a decade, Stockton said. The autopsy report does not say whether Madden's drug use contributed to his death.

Wisconsin Watchdog has exclusively obtained and published information about the autopsy reports for Madden, Fiebrink and the newborn, without specifying who provided the documents. The Medical Examiner's Office said it has not provided the reports to the media or the inmates' family members because the Sheriff's Office has placed a non-disclosure hold on them.

Wisconsin Watchdog has provided favorable coverage of Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. as it relates to the jail deaths. Clarke told Wisconsin Watchdog that media outlets, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, as well as several Milwaukee-area Democratic politicians have improperly criticized and targeted him because of his support for President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican.

The families of Madden, Fiebrink and the newborn have called on Clarke to request outside investigations into the jail deaths, believing that an office led by Clarke won't conduct fair and thorough reviews of the deaths.

In response to several questions about the autopsy release, Clarke said through a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman, "You'll have to ask Wisconsin Watchdog." He offered no other comment.

An independent, court-appointed physician who monitors health care at the jail has said that the deaths of Thomas, the newborn and Fiebrink all came after mistakes in medical care or potentially poor oversight of inmates. The monitor, Ronald Shansky, didn't address Madden's death because it occurred two weeks before his review of the jail in November.

Shansky also found several shortcomings in staffing and quality of medical treatment at the jail. In a report, Shansky wrote "questions certainly can be raised" about the relationship between the four deaths and the issues he found. However, he did not attribute any of the deaths to any actions or inaction by staff at the jail.

In its articles, Wisconsin Watchdog has not mentioned any of Shansky's findings.