Update -it is now 103123 abd this still is not out- a loborious birth with many parts- Articles are coming swiftly now and good questions are being asked. There was a small protest on the 25th at WCi and on Nov. 9th at GBCI will be a larger one- I will get details out as I can via corrlinks. Lonnie Story has filed his suit and it involves WCI - (his info and note page). I thank our new volunteer, Emma, for doing the Destress Section and putting this together in such a eleganet style. I will be sending out extras as requested in the usual 10 page squinched style so enjoy the large print here. , peg
Wisconsin’s Prison Budget Among Largest In Nation
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/10/30/wisconsins-prison-budget-among-largest-in-nation/
State's incarceration rate, particularly for Black males, also among highest nationally.
Wisconsin’s incarceration rates are higher than the national average, especially for Black residents, and the state has one of the largest corrections budgets in the nation, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
The report comes at a time of increased scrutiny of the prison system due to extended lockdowns that have included prisoner deaths and ongoing worker shortages.
The forum found 344 of every 100,000 Wisconsinites were in prison in 2021, compared to a national average of 316.In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number prisoners in Wisconsin, the state’s incarceration rate was even higher, at 411 per 100,000.The state spent $220 per resident on corrections in 2020, compared to the U.S. average of $182. Wisconsin spends more on corrections than any of its neighbors. Michigan is closest at $204 per resident, while Minnesota spends $111 per resident.
In 2017, the most recent year for which full U.S. Census data are available for all local governments, Wisconsin ranked 13th among states in per capita combined state and local corrections spending, according to the report.
The 2023-25 state budget dedicates $2.76 billion dollars in general purpose revenue to the Department of Corrections, making it the third-biggest recipient of those funds among all state agencies.
Jason Stein is the research director of the Wisconsin Policy Forum. He says that while his organization does not advocate a specific solution, the state has money to tackle challenges.“The state has a surplus, it has an ability to work on problems, and corrections issues are certainly one of them,” he said.Rule violations for those on supervision drive incarceration rate. The top cause of incarceration in Wisconsin is not new crimes, according to the report. Instead, it’s people on probation who are sent to prison for violating rules.Between the years 2000 and 2020, the policy forum found such revocations accounted for more than 30 percent of all new prison admissions each year.
Jon McCray Jones is a policy analyst for the ACLU of Wisconsin. He says the rule violations often are not public safety concerns.“Rules such as borrowing money, missing a meeting with their officer, switching residency locations, switching jobs without approval,” he said, would not be considered crimes for most Wisconsinites.
“But when a formerly incarcerated person does it, they get sent to prison for it,” he said. “You’re ironically making the community worse off because they can’t get a job, they can’t get housing, they can’t get a credit card. So then what they do is they turn to crime.”
Substance abuse issues are a key driver behind these revocations, according to a 2019 study from the Badger Institute. Data from the Department of Corrections shows that 72 percent of people on supervision in Wisconsin needed substance abuse treatment in 2022.Stein said the state has the programming and funding available to provide treatment for those suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues, both while they are incarcerated and post-release.“And then I think the state could do more to track and document what approaches are working, because I think it’s a mistake to jump to conclusions about what works and what doesn’t,” he said.
Wisconsin had the third-highest Black-white imprisonment disparity in the country in 2021
The Wisconsin Policy Forum also found Black Wisconsinites are imprisoned at close to 12 times the rate of white Wisconsinites. Only New Jersey and California had larger gaps, at 12.8 and 15.6 percent, respectively.
The number is calculated by dividing the Black imprisonment rate by the white imprisonment rate, and is based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Wisconsin also had the highest Black imprisonment rate in the country in 2021, at 2,104 per 100,000 residents. Oklahoma, the next highest state, had a rate of 1,932 per 100,000.“Historical developments, socioeconomic factors, and policy choices made over many decades have contributed to these incarceration rates and racial disparities in Wisconsin,” the report said.Advocates say the report underscores longstanding challenges in Wisconsin
Adam Plotkin, a spokesperson for the State Public Defender’s office, said the policy forum research shows that without investing more in diversion, drug treatment and worker training programs, the state is harming public safety rather than protecting it.“The fundamental issue is that the criminal justice system and prisons are the most expensive, least effective option,” Plotkin said.But correctional institutions remain understaffed. New officer pay was bumped from $20 an hour to $33 in the most recent state budget in an effort to recruit and retain more officers. “It’s no secret that staffing has been a challenge at our facilities statewide, but we’re hopeful that the new compensation plan and pay increases for security staff are going to put us on a better path,” Department of Corrections spokesperson Kevin Hoffman said in a statement to Wisconsin Public Radio.“Our recruitment efforts are well underway, and we’re already seeing positive signs, including a spike in applications and larger class sizes in our pre-service academy,” Hoffman said.
Report: Wisconsin prisons have large budgets, high racial disparities was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/lawsuit-filed-over-worsening-issues-at-waupun-prison/
Lawsuit filed over worsening issues at Waupun prison/BY: ISIAH HOLMES - 103023
A lawsuit has been filed in federal court against the Department of Corrections (DOC), blasting conditions at the Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) as “cruel and unusual conditions of confinement.” Men incarcerated within Wisconsin’s oldest prison have reported lack of access to medical treatment, restricted recreation time, no family visits, and other issues as the prison continues a months-long lockdown.
“I think the most important thing for people to understand is that no matter what these inmates may have done, their incarceration is what they’re being sentenced for,” attorney Lonnie Story told Wisconsin Examiner. “They shouldn’t be punished in addition or over and above that. That just amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.” The lawsuit alleges many issues which have long persisted in the prison have worsened under the lockdown. “Critically ill prisoners have begged prison officials for treatment, only to be told ‘be patient,’ ‘it’s all in your head,’ or ‘pray’ to be cured,” the complaint reads. “Despite warnings from their own employees, prisoners and their family members and advocates about the risk of serious injury and death to prisoners, Defendants are deliberately indifferent to the substantial risk of pain and suffering to prisoners, including deaths, which occur due to Defendants’ failure to provide minimally adequate health care, in violation of the Eighth Amendment.”
Story explained that the biggest issues lay in the lack of timely and adequate health care. “They’re not getting the medication, they’re not getting the treatments that they need, the dental care that they need, all of these things,” he told Wisconsin Examiner. “These guys have been suffering for months without getting their dental treatment. You got some guys that, like one in particular, has an exposed root in his mouth. And he’s had that for months now, without getting dental care. So, all of that is just being inhumane.”
Several men incarcerated at Waupun and their grievances are described in the complaint. One 62-year-old man with a severe eye condition has filed daily medical request forms to no avail, the complaint reads. He’s complained of pain, blurred vision, and dark spots. Another man endured a tooth decayed down to the nerve for four months before until the tooth was finally removed. The empty sockets left behind, however, later became infected. Several more weeks passed before he received medication for the infections. Other residents of the prison have suffered complications from diabetes, kidney stones, broken teeth, auto-immune disorders, and other issues.
The lockdown, which restricts time for exercise and access to special dietary needs, has worsened many chronic illnesses among the prison population which require things like exercise or specific food to keep in check. Lonnie fears that this could have a cascade effect, placing more individuals at risk of dying in the facility. Since the lockdown began, Waupun has seen two deaths within its walls. The family of one of the men, Dean Hoffman, is also being represented by Lonnie. Hoffman’s death by an apparent suicide drew increased scrutiny to the prison earlier this year. Both Waupun and the Green Bay Correctional Institution have been placed on “modified movement,” the DOC’s term for a lockdown. The DOC has pointed to under-staffing and behavioral safety issues among incarcerated men as reasons for the lockdowns.
“What’s happening with the way they’re doing this lockdown, it’s just going to continue to make things worse,” Story told Wisconsin Examiner. “I had a phone call yesterday to Green Bay, and right in the middle of the phone call with my client, a fight broke out. And he indicated to me that, that’s a prime example right there of the anxiety, the stress. They’re turning the place into a madhouse at Waupun, and same thing with Green Bay.”
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2023/10/31/third-death-reported-during-lockdown-at-waupun-prison-in-wisconsin/71399029007/
From:Third death reported at Waupun prison in four months
Vanessa Swales Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A prisoner died at Waupun Correctional Institution this week, marking the third death at the facility in four months.
The Dodge County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed it is investigating the death, which occurred Monday.
"We're still very early in the investigation. I won’t have autopsy results for a couple of months," Medical Examiner PJ Schoebel told the Journal Sentinel.The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to questions late Tuesday from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Last week, prison rights advocates and families members of those incarcerated in Waupun protested outside the prison, calling on Gov. Tony Evers and Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr to address ongoing concerns about the deteroriating conditions inside state prisons.
Waupun has been in lockdown — or what DOC describes as a "state of modified movement" — since March. This has forced roughly a thousand incarcerated individuals there to remain in their cells for nearly 24 hours a day, taking meals in their cells, no recreation time, the outdoors or the library, and limited shower access, according to advocates.
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