Vanessa Swales
Nearly a dozen prison employees have now resigned or been fired since the U.S. Department of Justice launched a probe into a suspected drug, phone and contraband smuggling ring within Waupun Correctional Institution, according to the state's Department of Corrections.
That's up from the five previously reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last spring.
Of the 11 staffers, nine had their employment terminated and two resigned while under investigation, according to DOC spokesperson Beth Hardtke. The department said it isn't yet releasing the names of nine individuals whose employment was terminated because they are still under investigation.
In September, however, a former facilities repair worker at Waupun Correctional Institution pleaded guilty in federal court to smuggling contraband into the prison, including cell phones, tobacco products and controlled substances. Between 2022 and 2023, the former employee had received payments from prisoners, former prisoners and "associates" of prisoners totaling more than $53,000.
The probe came at a time when the state's correctional system faced growing criticism from prison rights advocates and families of Waupun prisoners following a spate of in-custody deaths, extended lock-down periods and poor access to on-site health care and services.
In June 2023, Dean Hoffmann, 60, died by suicide after nine days in solitary confinement. An investigation by the Journal Sentinel found that prison workers failed to give him his bipolar and antidepressant medications as prescribed more than three-quarters of the time. Shortly thereafter, his family filed a lawsuit alleging prison staff were deliberately indifferent to Hoffmann's serious mental health needs.
In October 2023, 30-year-old Tyshun Lemons died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl and Cameron Williams, 24, died of a rare stroke. Fellow prisoners have accused prison workers of ignoring Williams' pleas for help before his death. Their families have filed separate civil rights lawsuits against DOC, each alleging that Lemons and Williams were deprived of constitutional rights protecting against cruel and unusual punishment.
Donald W. Maier, 62, died in February of last year, a week after staff began periodically switching off the water to prevent him from flooding his cell, according to a criminal complaint. He died of probable dehydration and malnutrition, and his death was ruled a homicide.
The Journal Sentinel also reported on the deaths of Jay J. Adkins, 66, who died in May, and Christopher L. McDonald, 57, who later died in August. Dodge County Sheriff Dale J. Schmidt did not immediately respond to questions about the status of his office's investigation into their deaths.
Last summer, the prison's former warden and eight other workers, including nurses, correctional sergeants and lieutenants at the facility, were arrested and charged with misconduct in office and abuse of residents of a penal facility related to the deaths of Williams and Maier.
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