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WisconsinWatch.org - Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

WisconsinWatch.org (https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/series/waupun-allegations/)

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Cruel and Unusual?

Our "Cruel and Unusual?" series examines Wisconsin’s prison system, including legislation affecting prisoners and their families.

Our reporting found prisoners experience despair, suicide attempts, mental harm and lack of services in solitary confinement that can stretch on for years.

An unoccupied cell in the segregation unit at Waupun Correctional Institution. The cells are small, with a narrow window and concrete and steel furnishings.

Wisconsin Department of Corrections

An unoccupied cell in the segregation unit at Waupun Correctional Institution. The cells are small, with a narrow window and concrete and steel furnishings.

"I’ve tried many times to hang myself with a sheet, overdose on medication. I start to see things or people who isn’t there."

— Quenton Thompson, prisoner at the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility

“I don’t know what has to happen for these guys to be believed.”

— Peg Swan, inmate advocate

Coronavirus Coverage

Inmates fear ‘the invisible enemy’ in Wisconsin’s overcrowded prisons

While county jails have driven populations down significantly during the pandemic, state prisons have seen just a modest reduction in inmate numbers.

Cruel and Unusual?

Pay-to-stay, other fees, can put jail inmates hundreds or thousands in debt

In some Wisconsin counties, inmates pay an average of $390 a month in pay-to-stay fees; advocates say such fees can criminalize poverty.

Cruel and Unusual?

By the numbers: Jail incarceration fees in Wisconsin

A Wisconsin Watch survey found jails across the state differ greatly in the fees they charge inmates; many do not list the information on their websites.

Cruel and Unusual?

Hard road ahead for Gov. Tony Evers’ promise to slash Wisconsin prison population

The Democrat’s goal to reduce incarceration by 50 percent faces numerous hurdles; his own 2019-21 budget proposal calls for increasing prison beds.

Cruel and Unusual?

Wisconsin’s high supervision rate can cause — rather than prevent — longer incarceration, studies show

Supervision time in Wisconsin is third-longest in the U.S., meaning more chances for revocations and increased prison populations.

Cruel and Unusual?

Wisconsin inmates report despair, little counseling in solitary confinement that can stretch on for years

Prisoners recount suicide attempts, mental harm and lack of services in solitary confinement; former Waupun psychologist describes harsh treatment of inmates.

Cruel and Unusual?

Wisconsin prison officials quietly changed mental health status of inmates in solitary, psychologist says

When he returned from a medical leave in early 2016, psychologist Bradley Boivin discovered a troubling pattern among Waupun Correctional Institution inmates who had been held in solitary confinement. Thirteen of his patients’ mental health classifications had been changed without Boivin’s knowledge — and in his opinion, without proper assessment.

Cruel and Unusual?

Nearly 30 years in isolation: An inmate reflects on time in solitary

LaRon McKinley, who spent 28 years in administrative confinement, says the state needs to return to rehabilitation and end long-term solitary confinement

Cruel and Unusual?

Judge refuses to halt force feeding of inmate in solitary confinement protest

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.

Cruel and Unusual?

Wisconsin prison officials begin force feedings as solitary confinement protest continues

The state Department of Corrections is force feeding at least three inmates as a hunger strike aimed at ending a form of solitary confinement that can go on for years — even decades — continues for a third week.

Load more stories

The Allegations


40 allegations of guards abusing inmates at Waupun Correctional Institution
Details about each alleged incident, who was involved and the state’s response.

Listen

Wisconsin Public Radio's Gil Halsted produced two pieces about the Center's reports: Large number of prisoners allege abuse at Waupun prison and Investigative report raises questions about solitary confinement in Wisconsin.

Bill Lueders was interviewed on WPR's
Joy Cardin, July 21, on Central Time, and on The Devil's Advocate on 92.1 The Mic in Madison. Former Corrections secretary Walter Dickey spoke on Central Time.

Sidebars

Prisoner rights advocate Peg Swan has been trying for months to call attention to allegations of abuse of inmates at Waupun Correctional Institution.

Advocate Peg Swan devotes life to aiding Wisconsin's prisoners “This is Waupun,” she says, opening a file cabinet. “And that box is Waupun.”

Richard Smitheran

A look at six allegations of inmate abuse at Waupun "All we heard was a big hollow bang and when they brung him out he had blood all over his face."

The state Department of Corrections released hundreds of pages of records but denied access to other materials, including videos and internal complaints.

How the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism investigated prison-abuse allegations The state Department of Corrections released hundreds of pages of records but denied access to other materials, including videos and internal complaints.

The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is a nonprofit organization.

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