Emotions were high as the family of Joseph Lee gathered Sunday to honor the man who died after an assault in Racine County Jail on New Year's Eve. According to CBS 58, family members expressed their grief and concern over the lack of transparency surrounding the incident that led to Lee's death.
The Racine County Sheriff's Office reported that the assault on Lee, which was carried out by fellow inmate Davonte Carraway, occurred in the jail's dayroom. "What we don’t know is how long it took the deputies and the correctional officers to respond to this altercation," attorney B'Ivory LaMarr, who represents Lee's family, mentioned in a statement obtained by CBS 58. Lee was left brain dead following the assault and subsequent events, and the decision to remove him from life support was made by his family last Sunday.
Joseph Lee, who was a father of six and known locally as a rapper, also gained memorials from community members who called for greater accountability. "If someone makes a mistake, we have a judicial process for that. You serve your time and are rehabilitated—not killed in an institution," LaMarr exclaimed in a statement reported by TMJ4. Community advocates and representatives from the Racine Interfaith Coalition echoed these sentiments at the Sunday gathering.
Detailing the troubling allegations, LaMarr highlighted reports that Lee was placed upside down, naked in a trash bin after the assault. These details have primarily come from information provided by other inmates, since the family has not received formal communication from law enforcement about the death of Lee. "There has been no communication whatsoever," LaMarr said in a statement to WISN 12 News. CCTV footage confirmed the assault lasted less than a minute, though questions remain about the time it took for correctional officers to respond to the incident.
Court records revealed that the suspect, Carraway, previously facing an attempted homicide charge, is now being charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with Lee’s death. The Kenosha County Sheriff's Office, which has taken the lead on the investigation, has submitted the charge against Carraway to the Racine County District Attorneys' Office.
