Wisconsin prison warden charged with misconduct after inmate deaths
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[June 06, 2024]
By Brendan O'Brien and Steve Gorman
(Reuters) -The warden of a Wisconsin state prison was charged on
Wednesday with felony misconduct in public office stemming from a local
sheriff's investigation into the circumstances of four inmate deaths at
the maximum-security facility during the last year.
The warden, Randall Hepp, and eight other employees of the Waupun
Correctional Institution charged in the case, were jailed after
surrendering to authorities on Wednesday as arranged the day before,
according to Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt.
Waupun prison, the state's oldest, was already under federal
investigation over suspected staff involvement in a contraband smuggling
ring, a separate probe revealed in March by the office of Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers.
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At a news conference on Wednesday, the sheriff said his department's
separate investigation of inmate deaths at Waupun, which houses 1,000
prisoners about 70 miles (113 km) northwest of Milwaukee, found the
facility was being operated in "a dangerous and reckless manner."
The deaths of all four men, who were suffering from various medical and
mental health issues, reflected what Schmidt described as rampant
neglect by prison staff, lax oversight and violations of numerous
policies and protocols.
But investigators concluded that wrongdoing by the warden and others
rose to the level of criminal behavior in only two of the cases, Schmidt
said.
The first of the deaths occurred in June 2023, when prisoner Dean
Hoffman killed himself while in solitary confinement, prompting his
daughter to sue in February, accusing prison officials of failing to
provide him with proper care and medication.
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Two other inmates died in October - one from a fentanyl overdose and
another from a stroke. The sheriff did not give their names, but the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel identified them as Tyshun Lemons and
Cameron Williams, respectively.
In February, a fourth inmate who was supposed to have been kept
under around-the-clock video surveillance was found dead in his cell
after succumbing to probable dehydration and malnutrition, the
sheriff said. Local media identified him as Donald Maier.
The warden and three correctional officers were charged with felony
misconduct in connection with the deydration death. One of those
officers, three guards and two prison nurses were charged with
felony abuse of an inmate stemming from either the dehydration death
or the stroke victim.
One of the six correctional officers arrested on Wednesday, a
lieutenant, was charged with abuse in both deaths, the sheriff said.
According to Schmidt, both inmates had been dead for hours before
staff entered their cells.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and two
years of extended supervision, according to District Attorney Andrea
Will.
The prison in question has been under lockdown since March 2023
because of staff shortages, and a group of inmates has filed a
federal lawsuit in Milwaukee alleging that the lockdown amounts to
cruel and unusual punishment.
In answer to reporters' questions, Schmidt asserted that the
lockdown had nothing to do with the inmate deaths, dismissing such
suggestions as "bogus."
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Wallis
and Gerry Doyle)
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