A judge has rejected a request by a Wisconsin inmate hunger striker to discontinue force feeding as the protest against long-term solitary confinement continues.
Tag: Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety, Open records
Wisconsin prison guard fired for harassing inmates
An internal investigation found that DOC Sgt. Thomas J. Lukas engaged in “demeaning and harassing behavior” toward inmates at Fox Lake Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison in Dodge County. This included an email he sent to another guard making a reference to inmate Antron Kent and another inmate that was determined to be “sexual in nature and inappropriate.”
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety, News about Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism sues DOC over public records regarding inmate treatment and discipline
The Center alleges that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections failed to respond to two records requests regarding the Center’s ongoing investigation into inmate treatment and discipline.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin prison system revamps disciplinary rules
A state prison official called the new rules, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, “an excellent opportunity to focus on making positive changes” to the state’s use of solitary confinement.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety, Under the Influence
Treatment eludes many drunken driving offenders
“This time, I’m confident, I’m willing, I’m able and I want the sobriety,” says Andrew MacGillis, currently in Fox Lake Correctional Institution on his seventh drunken driving offense. But treatment may prove elusive for MacGillis, who says he has not been offered rehabilitation programs at Fox Lake. Others face a delay or are found noncompliant with court-ordered interviews that qualify them for treatment.
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 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 inGovernment, Justice & Safety
How the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism investigated prison-abuse allegations
The DOC, citing security reasons, denied the Center’s requests to interview inmates and take photographs in the segregation unit at Waupun, or videotape an inmate at another facility. It redacted from the released records references to inmate injuries and the physical or mental health treatment they received. It categorically denied access to formal complaints filed by inmates against guards, although some released records do convey the inmates’ perspective. And it denied access to video recordings to various incidents, saying this would compromise security.