(Madison) State legislators have responded to findings of the Waupun Correctional Institution death investigations. Following a press conference Wednesday by Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schimdt, Representative Mark Born of Beaver Dam – co-chair of the state’s budget-writing committee – and Representative Michael Schraa of Oshkosh – chair of the Assembly Committee on Corrections – released a joint statement.
They say the conclusions released from this investigation are incredibly troubling and that these findings highlight the lack of leadership by Governor Evers and the state Department of Corrections to protect the basic safety and constitutional rights of inmates in the state.
They say they fear the issues brought to light from this investigation are pervasive, and the legislative committees will be looking further into the problems caused by the lack of leadership by the Evers Administration to better understand the wholeness of the situation. Born and Schraa add that these deaths – and the issues that have caused an ongoing federal investigation into Waupun Correctional – call for better accountability in the state prison system, similar to the statutorily required oversight that occurs in the county jails.
They note that their offices will spend the coming days and months working with stakeholders to explore options for creating more transparency and accountability in the state correctional facilities.
