MADISON, Wis. — A fifth inmate has died at a maximum-security prison in Wisconsin. The former guard who was present when four others died was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday after being sentenced. charged in June with misconduct in public office.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death of 57-year-old Christopher McDonald, an inmate at Waupun Correctional Institution, on Monday. The sheriff’s department said the death, reported by the jail Monday morning, appears to have been a suicide.
“The initial investigation also indicates that at the time of discovery, staff responded quickly and appropriately and provided medical attention in an attempt to save the inmate’s life,” the sheriff’s department said in its news release. Sheriff Dale Schmidt said Tuesday he had no additional information to share.
Former director Randall Hepp was scheduled to appear in Dodge County court on charges of misconduct in office, stemming from an earlier investigation by the sheriff’s office.
Hepp and eight members of his staff were charged in June with a variety of crimes, 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 at Waupun in the past year.
Monday’s deaths came as lawmakers ramped up pressure on the state’s prison system.
A Senate committee planned to question the director of the state prison system during a hearing Tuesday near the Lincoln Hills juvenile detention center, where a guard was killed in June. Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy will testify, along with former prison guards and families of inmates.
Families of prisoners and former prison employees who previously lawmakers urged during a July hearing to fix what they say are systemic problems in Wisconsin’s prison system.
A Department of Corrections spokesman did not respond Tuesday to an email seeking comment on the latest death.
The juvenile detention center has been under intense scrutiny for years amid allegations of abuse and lawsuits from inmates there. In 2017, the state paid more than $25 million to settle a lawsuit, and a federal judge appointed a monitor to oversee conditions at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake. The monitor, who continues to report on conditions at the detention center, has said conditions are improving.
Two teens held at the Lincoln Hills Juvenile Detention Center – one 16 and one 17 – have been charged in connection with a fight on June 24th which left counselor Corey Proulx, 49, dead. According to the charges, one of the inmates struck Proulx, who fell and hit his head on the concrete sidewalk.