Prisoners describe unsanitary conditions and a dearth of medical care. Experts say staffing shortages are contributing to lockdowns across the country.
Tag: Waupun Correctional Institution
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin hunger strikers to take aim at long-term solitary confinement
About a dozen Wisconsin prisoners plan to launch a hunger strike beginning next week aimed at ending a form of indefinite solitary confinement that officials use to keep order in the institutions, according to an inmate advocacy group.
Posted inFailure at the Faucet, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Water tainted with lead, copper at two Wisconsin state prisons
The water at Fox Lake and Waupun Correctional Institutions is tainted with lead and copper. Officials say they are complying with federal standards, but some inmates and staff question whether it is safe.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Maximum stints in solitary cut, but Waupun inmates left in dark
Waupun Correctional inmates were not notified for months that Wisconsin had dramatically cut maximum stints in solitary confinement, leading some to agree to longer-than-maximum sentences.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin joins national push to curb solitary confinement
Wisconsin has made a “culture shift” in its use of solitary confinement in prisons, eliminating it as punishment for minor rule infractions and cutting the time inmates spend in isolation for more serious offenses, Department of Corrections officials revealed in an interview granted as part of a legal settlement with the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Lawmakers want answers on abuse allegations at Waupun
Six Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers have written the state Department of Corrections demanding action regarding allegations of abuse of inmates by guards at Waupun Correctional Institution.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Faith-based state group seeks Waupun prison abuse probe
A statewide advocacy group on Tuesday asked Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to investigate allegations that guards at Waupun Correctional Institution have abused inmates in the prison’s segregation unit dozens of times since 2011.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin rethinks use of solitary confinement
Part 3: Ed Wall, secretary of Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections, asked whether segregation is being used for punitive reasons, when “what we really need from segregation is for inmates to have a corrective and rehabilitative experience.”
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Waupun guard named repeatedly in abuse complaints
Part 2: Of the 40 inmate allegations against prison guards, Joseph Beahm is named in 28. A dozen inmate lawsuits since 2011 accuse Beahm of physical or psychological abuse.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Advocate devotes life to aiding Wisconsin’s prisoners
The day before a reporter came to visit, Peg Swan received six letters from Wisconsin prison inmates. Some days she gets more than that. “Three is few,” she said.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Waupun prison guards accused of abusing dozens of inmates
Part 1: The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has identified 40 allegations of physical or psychological abuse by correctional officers against inmates in Waupun’s segregation unit since 2011. The allegations, involving 33 inmates, allege extreme mistreatment, including being beaten and stomped on while handcuffed behind their backs.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
40 allegations of guards abusing inmates at Waupun Correctional Institution
Allegations of incidents involving 33 inmates, compiled from records and interviews.