'It's truly a torture chamber': Advocates protest to highlight lockdown at Waupun prison

Editor's note: The story has been updated to include a response from Department of Corrections spokesperson Kevin Hoffman disputing that people incarcerated at Waupun do not have access to recreation.

WAUPUN — Family members and advocates are calling for Gov. Tony Evers to establish a criminal justice reform task force, as three of the state's prisons remain on lockdown due to a lack of staffing and concerns over violence.

Advocates and relatives gathered outside Waupun Correctional Institution Wednesday morning, calling for Evers and Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr to listen to their concerns over worsening conditions in state prisons, especially those that are locked down.

Waupun has been under a "state of modified movement" since March, essentially forcing those incarcerated there to remain in their cells for nearly 24 hours a day. Those in the care of the facility eat in their cell, and do not have access to recreation, the outdoors or the library, and are only permitted to shower a few times a week, advocates said.

"The circumstances inside many institutions in the state of Wisconsin are horrific," said James Morgan, the organizer of MOSES Madison, a group focused on criminal justice reform, speaking outside the prison.

"We've got Green Bay, we're having similar conditions at Stanley, this issue is expanding throughout the system. People in these facilities need to be respected and treated as human beings."

Morgan said the conditions for those inside the prison have been bad for years. He was once incarcerated there, and attempted suicide within the facility.

"It's truly a torture chamber," he said. "These men are going to suffer health impacts for years to come."

Morgan was one of about 20 people who gathered in the rain to speak about the conditions inside the facility, and light candles for two men who recently died inside.

The prison, located in Dodge County, has been the site of two in-custody deaths in the last four months during an ongoing lockdown that began in March.

Green Bay Correctional Institution and Stanley Correctional Institution have also been under lockdown, limiting movement, recreation and other activities at the two sites.

During questioning from state senators in September, Carr denied that the prisons were under a lockdown and instead referred to it as "modified movement."

Individuals housed at the prison and their family members have decried the lockdowns, which include bans on gathering in communal spaces and restrictions on legal services and visitors.

But Kevin Hoffman, a spokesperson for the department, said that those incarcerated at Waupun have been eating in their cells since the outset of the pandemic, and that they have access to recreation and the libraries. He did not specify how often that access was permitted.

He did not immediately respond to other questions about the conditions inside the prison.

"They're just setting everybody up in there for a mental breakdown," said Rita Phelan, whose son is incarcerated at Waupun.

"They keep saying saying it's not a lockdown and they say it's because of the prisoners' behavior. Well, how would you react if you were locked down like that? But when people are dying, and committing suicide, you've got to address the problems."

'They're stripped of human rights'

Carolyn Hayes, a volunteer advocate with the nonprofit Forum For Understanding Prisons, spoke Wednesday about the conditions her son is enduring inside the prison.

She previously told the Journal Sentinel she doesn't know how she can help her 27-year-old son, Jonathan Hayes, who has been housed at Waupun since Aug. 28. He was sentenced in 2021 on charges of felony murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

She said her son has been having suicidal thoughts since his arrival, and she's worried about his declining mental health after such a short amount of time in the facility.

"I can hear the agony in his voice," Hayes said in a previous interview. "I can't sleep. Everything I try to do to help him, I get no answers."

Now, she's calling on the state to look into conditions at Waupun, and protect those incarcerated instead of subjecting them to what she believes amounts to torture.

"All these people here and other prisoners are being tortured," she said Wednesday. "They're stripped of human rights."

Last month, Hayes pleaded for help in an email to a communications specialist at the Department of Corrections, Zack Osell, describing her son's distress and attempts to get medical help for suicidal ideation.

"I don’t (want) my son to take his life ... Don’t let that happen," she wrote.

Hayes said she did not receive a response.

"I don't think my son is going to make it in there," she told the Journal Sentinel.

What do we know about Waupun Correctional Institution?

As of Oct. 13, Waupun houses 1,005 individuals, exceeding the prison's capacity of 882.

Waupun is the most understaffed Wisconsin state prison, with a 53% vacancy rate, according to recent data. As a whole, the state's prison system has a vacancy rate of 32%.

The prison reported 135 attempted or completed assaults on correctional staff from July 2022 to June 2023, making up 35% of assaults on correctional staff across the state.

Waupun Correctional Institution had 140 people in solitary confinement in September, including 20 people with severe mental illness, according to data from the Department of Corrections.

In September, the Journal Sentinel reported on 60-year-old Dean Hoffmann, who died by suicide while in solitary confinement at Waupun in June. His family has questioned whether Hoffmann received proper medical treatment and resources for his diagnosed bipolar disorder and reported suicidal ideation.

In early October, it was reported that Tyshun Lemons, 30, also died at Waupun. The cause and manner of his death are still under investigation.

Department of Corrections officials remain quiet

While advocates have continued to press the Department of Corrections about the lockdowns and prison conditions, the department has remained quiet.

Secretary Carr has turned down several interviews with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"As you might expect we are receiving an overwhelming number of inquiries and media requests on this subject, so at this time we’re not granting interviews," Hoffman, the department's spokesperson, said in an email last week.

Evers has also largely been quiet on the issue, according to advocates, who said their messages and phone calls have gone unanswered by his administration and many lawmakers.

"The silence from our governor, from our secretary of the Department of Corrections, when these families are calling out, is a shameful silence. This is silence that says, 'You don't matter,'" said Morgan. "And that is unacceptable."

Prison rights activist Rob Slamka said the state could break its silence by forming a task force, which would elevate the voices of those who have been incarcerated and their loved ones.

"This is no longer a correctional facility. It's a penitentiary. You're having lockdowns inside these walls, and it's affecting everyone in the community, all the way around. And it's an issue that needs to be addressed."

Morgan encouraged those in attendance to keep using their voices to advocate for change, and to vote in elections, too.

"What is happening here in Waupun Correctional Institution, Green Bay Correctional Institution, every institution around this state, is horrific," he said. "If this isn't against human rights and human dignity, then what is?"

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @Vanessa_Swales. Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Advocates, family members protest lockdown at Waupun prison