EchoSense:Ex-Wisconsin warden, 8 others charged after investigation into inmate deaths

MILWAUKEE,EchoSense Wis. — The former warden and eight other workers at a long-troubled maximum-security prison in Wisconsin were charged Wednesday in connection with the deaths of two inmates at the facility, one of which was ruled a homicide.

All nine individuals were arrested Wednesday with eight facing charges of felony inmate abuse. Randall Hepp, the former warden of Waupun Correctional Institution, about 70 miles northwest of Milwaukee, was charged with misconduct in public office.

Hepp retired from the state agency last week amid intense scrutiny over in-custody deaths that occurred between June 2023 and February 2024, and a federal investigation into a suspected smuggling conspiracy. The arrests came the same day Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt and other officials released new details into the death investigations of Dean Hoffmann, 60; Tyshun Lemons, 30; Cameron Williams, 24; and Donald W. Maier, 62.

Schmidt criticized the state's correctional system, describing how Williams and Maier were dead for hours before staff retrieved them from their cells, and that Maier had his water shut off in his cell periodically and missed meals. In other cases, correctional staff did not properly document cell checks.

Maier died from dehydration and failure to thrive due to malnutrition, according to Schmidt, citing the medical examiner's reports. His manner of death was ruled a homicide.

This was the first time Maier's cause and manner of death had been released. Before Wednesday, little had been known about the circumstances of Maier's death.

The Dodge County Medical Examiner, PJ Schoebel, previously found Hoffmann died by suicide, Lemons died from an accidental fentanyl overdose and Williams died of a rare stroke.

"These investigations have shown a blatant disregard for the safety of human beings and arrests must be made and have been made," Schmidt said at a news conference. "There must be accountability for the actions and inactions of state employees. As the sheriff, I am angered at how these men were treated, and how they died."

The state Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, questions about the arrests or news conference.

Dodge County sheriff criticizes state Department of Corrections

Schmidt said he met personally with former Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr to share his office's findings earlier this year.

“Secretary Carr was agitated by the information presented, and he should have been. However, he did not take any personal responsibility but rather shifted that blame,” Schmidt said. “However, there needs to be some responsibility from the top down, and it was clear that there wasn't.”

Three days after their conversation, Carr announced his departure from the agency, Schmidt recalled. “I did not find that to be a coincidence,” Schmidt added.

Schmidt added that he had a productive conversation with Jared Hoy, the new Department of Corrections secretary, last week. In a letter sent Wednesday, obtained by the Journal Sentinel, Hoy asked the sheriff not to conclude his investigation.

“As you may be aware, the department’s own internal investigation has not yet concluded, which will no doubt be further informed and aided by information we presume you will be sharing today, including the final Medical Examiner’s reports on the cause of death for Cameron Williams and Donald Maier, which the department has not yet received,” Hoy wrote.

“To that end, I am requesting the findings you will be sharing today be shared with the department as soon as possible and without any further delay.”

Hoy said more than 20 state Department of Corrections employees are under investigation and more could be placed on administrative leave as internal investigations continue. 

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Tension growing over conditions at Waupun Correctional Institution

A senior official within Gov. Tony Evers' administration said state officials were "shocked" to hear the Dodge County Sheriff would conclude his investigation while the Wisconsin Department of Corrections is still conducting internal reviews.

Seven state Department of Corrections employees are on administrative leave and at least nine have been terminated or resigned from their positions since June 2023. None of the 16 people are included in the latest charges, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

In a statement released after the news conference, Evers requested the sheriff's investigation remain open as the state Department of Corrections' internal investigatiosn and federal law enforcement investigations continue.

"There must be accountability and justice," Evers said. "And I believe accountability and justice insist that both internal and law enforcement investigations must continue until they have been exhaustively and thoroughly completed."

Republican lawmakers who control the state Legislature said Wednesday the sheriff's findings required more scrutiny of the Evers administration.

“The conclusions released from this investigation are incredibly troubling. These findings highlight the lack of leadership by Governor Tony Evers and the state Department of Corrections to protect the basic safety and constitutional rights of inmates in our state," Reps. Mark Born of Beaver Dam and Michael Schraa of Oshkosh, said in a statement. 

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard believes the results of the local probe thus far underscore the need to close the Waupun facility.

"Waupun has seen preventable prison deaths, rampant drug and contraband dealing, and a year-long lockdown. The warden may have been arrested, but the buck doesn’t stop there," he said in a statement. "Tony Evers can’t keep his head in the sand anymore."

Waupun has been subject to a federal investigation into a suspected drug and cell phone smuggling ring by staff at the facility. The federal probe resulted in 11 state employees being placed on administrative leave, with five later resigning or being fired.

Four deaths at Waupun over eight months

The Journal Sentinel has published in-depth investigations into the deaths of Hoffmann and Williams, piecing together their final weeks alive with information from prisoners and family members.

Prisoners held in the same unit as Williams told the Journal Sentinel that his pleas for help were ignored in the days leading to his death. One prisoner said his "screams were blood-curdling" and that "no one came to help him.”

Williams' family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Department of Corrections and prison officials, alleging his constitutional rights protecting against cruel and unusual process were violated.

Records obtained by Hoffmann's family and reviewed by the Journal Sentinel showed prison staff failed to provide his bipolar and antidepressant medications as prescribed more than three-quarters of the time in the two and a half months leading to his suicide.

In February, Hoffmann's family filed a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections, alleging his civil rights were violated in the months leading up to his death.

Relatives of Lemons, who died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, have previously questioned how the drugs that killed him made their way into the maximum-security prison.

From 2018 to mid-2022, 10 people died of fatal drug overdoses in Wisconsin prisons, according to state data.