MADISON, Wis. – A fifth inmate has died at a maximum security prison in Wisconsin, as the former warden who was there when four others died was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday after being charged in June with misconduct in public office.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death Monday of 57-year-old Waupun Correctional Institution inmate Christopher McDonald. The sheriff’s department said the death, reported by the jail Monday morning, appears to be a suicide.
“The initial investigation also shows that at the time of discovery, employees responded quickly and appropriately, providing medical assistance in an effort to save the inmate’s life,” the sheriff’s department said in its statement. Sheriff Dale Schmidt said Tuesday he had no additional information to share.
Former director Randall Hepp was scheduled to be arraigned in Dodge County Circuit Court on one count of felony misconduct in office following an earlier investigation by the sheriff’s department.
Hepp and eight members of his team were charged with various crimes in June, including misconduct and inmate abuse, in connection with the deaths of two inmates at the prison since last year. One of the inmates died of a stroke and the other died of dehydration, according to court documents.
Hepp retired in June. No one has been charged in connection with the other two inmate deaths last year in Waupun.
Monday’s death came as lawmakers increase pressure on the state prison system.
A Senate committee planned to hear from the head of the state prison system at a hearing Tuesday near the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison, where a guard was killed in June. Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy is expected to testify, along with former prison guards and family members of inmates.
Families of formerly incarcerated and former prison workers asked lawmakers at a hearing in July to fix what they said were systemic problems in Wisconsin’s prison system.
A Department of Corrections spokesperson did not respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday about the latest death.
The juvenile prison has been under intense scrutiny for years, amid allegations of abuse and lawsuits filed by people incarcerated there. In 2017, the state paid more than $25 million to settle a lawsuit and a federal judge appointed a monitor to oversee conditions in Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake. The monitor, who continues to report on conditions in the prison, said the situation has improved.
Two teenagers arrested at the Lincoln Hills Juvenile Center – a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old – have been charged in connection with a fight on June 24th it left counselor Corey Proulx, 49, dead. According to the criminal complaints, one of the inmates punched Proulx, who fell and hit his head on the concrete sidewalk.
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