Maximum-security warden Wisconsin Prisons Eight members of his staff were charged on Wednesday following an investigation into the deaths of four inmates last year, one of whom went undetected until at least 12 hours after his death.
The warden of the Waupun Correctional Institution, Randall Hepp, is charged with misconduct in public office. The other eight are charged with prisoner abuse, a felony, and three of them — two corrections officers and a corrections sergeant — are also charged with misconduct in public office. All nine were due in court Wednesday.
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“We are witnessing the oldest jail in the state of Wisconsin being operated in a dangerous and reckless manner,” Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, who led the investigation, said at a news conference announcing the charges.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt talks about the investigation into the deaths of four inmates at the Waupun Correctional Institution during a news conference on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Juneau, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Maury Gash)
Schmidt said one inmate whose death was ruled a homicide had his water cut off for a considerable period of time, was not closely monitored despite refusing to eat, and was denied direct access to a doctor because he was in restricted housing. Another inmate who had a stroke lay dead in his cell for at least 12 hours until he was found.
Hepp, who faces up to 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted, announced last week that he plans to retire at the end of June and that Deputy Warden Brad Molodzik will take over for him. He said in an email to Waupun staff that he has helped improve “safety and order” at the prison.
“It’s amazing to realize how far we’ve come,” Hepp wrote. “We also know there’s so much more we have to do.”
Hepp’s attorney, Robert Webb, did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday.
Three of the four deaths are the subject of federal prosecution, the state Corrections Department is investigating the prison’s operations, and the governor last year asked the U.S. Justice Department to become involved.
Corrections Department Chief Jared Hoye said in a statement that more than 20 people are still under internal investigation, at least eight are on administrative leave and nine others have been fired or retired since the investigation began a year ago.
Given the ongoing investigation, Hoye urged the sheriff to continue his investigation and share all of his findings so far “as soon as possible and without delay.”
Schmidt said he could reopen the investigation for more criminal charges if an internal state investigation turns up additional evidence.
Dean Hoffman, the first of the four inmates to die, committed suicide in solitary confinement last June. Hoffman’s daughter filed a federal lawsuit in February alleging prison officials failed to provide her father with adequate mental health care and medication.
Tyshun Lemons and Cameron Williams were both found dead at the facility in October. Dodge County Medical Examiner P.J. Schobel said Lemons had overdosed on acetyl fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller, and Williams died of a stroke.
Donald Maier was found dead in prison in February. His death was ruled a homicide caused by malnutrition and dehydration, Schmidt said.
All of the charges relate to the deaths of Williams and Mair.
Waupun’s problems extend far beyond the deaths of prisoners. Governor Tony Evers’ Federal investigators were looking into a suspected smuggling ring involving prison employees, the office said in March.
Evers responded to the charges filed Wednesday, saying those who failed to do their jobs would be held accountable.
“There must be accountability and justice,” Evers said in a statement. “And I believe accountability and justice entail that both internal and law enforcement investigations must continue until they are fully and completely completed.”
The state Corrections Department last year put prisons in Waupun and Green Bay and Stanley on lockdown because of a shortage of guards. Waupun inmates filed a federal lawsuit in October alleging that conditions there amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. That suit is still pending.
Schmidt said he believed the lockdown had nothing to do with the inmate deaths.
Stanley resumed normal operations in November. Movement restrictions have been eased in Waupun and Green Bay, but as of the department’s latest update in April, in-person visitation had not resumed in Waupun and recreation time was still limited. However, inmates were being allowed to make phone calls and text using electronic tablets.
Waupun is one of five maximum-security prisons in Wisconsin. The facility, built in the 1850s, had 712 inmates as of May 31, according to the state Department of Corrections’ latest population report. The prison is designed to hold up to 882 inmates.
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Republican state lawmakers reiterated calls for Evers to close Waupun and other prisons after the charges were filed. green BayWhich was also constructed in the 1800s.
“The warden may be arrested, but the matter does not end there,” said state Senator Van Wanggaard, who chairs the Senate committee that oversees the state prison system. “Tony Evers can no longer hide his head in the sand.”
