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.
WisconsinWatch.org (https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/series/waupun-allegations/)
Our reporting found prisoners experience despair, suicide attempts, mental harm and lack of services in solitary confinement that can stretch on for years.
— Peg Swan, inmate advocate
While county jails have driven populations down significantly during the pandemic, state prisons have seen just a modest reduction in inmate numbers.
In some Wisconsin counties, inmates pay an average of $390 a month in pay-to-stay fees; advocates say such fees can criminalize poverty.
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.
The Democrat’s goal to reduce incarceration by 50 percent faces numerous hurdles; his own 2019-21 budget proposal calls for increasing prison beds.
Supervision time in Wisconsin is third-longest in the U.S., meaning more chances for revocations and increased prison populations.
Prisoners recount suicide attempts, mental harm and lack of services in solitary confinement; former Waupun psychologist describes harsh treatment of inmates.
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.
LaRon McKinley, who spent 28 years in administrative confinement, says the state needs to return to rehabilitation and end long-term solitary confinement
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.
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.