UNDATED (WSAU-WAOW) – The American Civil Liberties Union is calling for more staffing at the Lincoln Hills youth prison. They would oppose any changes to a court injunction on the use of pepper spray and solitary confinement.
On Thursday Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) and Rep. Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) sent a letter to Judge James Peterson, asking him to reverse the order.
But Timothy Muth, an attorney for the ACLU, said it’s still necessary at the Irma facility.
“The practices of holding youth in solitary confinement for periods of time, sometimes as long as 60 days, and the use of pepper spray even in situations where nobody was in physical danger were violations of the constitutional rights of the youth being held at Lincoln Hills,” said Muth.
He did say, however, he believes the line staff was failed by the Department of Corrections.
“They are understaffed and overworked and more resources need to be put into that facility,” said Muth. “The line staff learned from whatever training they got from the Department of Corrections, ultimately the fault and the responsibility is at the top of the system. The Department of Corrections failed repeatedly to give them the training, to give them the techniques, to give them the tools to work with youth in these settings.”
There have been two staff assaults at Lincoln Hills this month. One of the staff members said guards are “handcuffed” by the court order, and that youth offenders have been emboldened.
