CLEVELAND – The former director of the troubled Cuyahoga County prison in Cleveland was convicted Friday of negligent misconduct at the facility that killed several inmates three years ago.
Kenneth Mills, 55, of Avon, Ohio, was found guilty of two counts of forgery and neglect of customs duties, but was acquitted of a crime that tampered with file numbers. He is now facing a possible prison sentence of more than a year behind bars.
More than two dozen witnesses testified at the trial that Mills ignored warnings that there weren’t enough guards, nurses, or space to implement a plan to expand the prison and accommodate inmates of other cities.
Mills resigned in November 2018, just before the US Marshals Service issued a report calling the prison conditions “inhuman”.
Mills’ attorneys argued that the district sheriff, not the prison director, was responsible for conditions at the facility. They also asked why no senior officials took action when so many concerns were raised about detention conditions.
