Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul speaks about Drug Take Back Day April 19, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin’s attorney general is speaking out about the condition of the state’s correctional system in the aftermath of Wednesday’s shocking arrests of nine employees at the Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI).
It’s the result of an investigation by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office launched after four WCI inmates died in an eight-month period.
Randall Hepp, WCI’s warden, is charged with misconduct in public office. Eight other prison employees are facing charges of felony inmate abuse, and three of them are also charged with misconduct in public office.
Green Bay’s prison was called out by name by Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt when discussing the investigation into WCI. “It was also brought to my attention later that there were similar type incidents that have occurred at Green Bay Correctional Institution,” Schmidt said.
At a news conference Thursday in Appleton, Attorney General Josh Kaul fielded questions about the investigation’s outcome and the controversial futures of the prisons in Green Bay and Waupun.
“The allegations are incredibly concerning,” Kaul said. “Anybody who is in the custody and care of the Wisconsin corrections system needs to be treated humanely, and we need to ensure that the health and well-being is protected. If there are violations of the law that are committed, the people responsible for that need to be held accountable.”
Allouez Village President Jim Rafter and State Representative David Steffen, both of whom represent the area where GBCI is located, are among those who have been advocating for the closure of GBCI for nearly a decade.
When asked if he thinks GBCI and/or WCI should be closed, Kaul said, in part:
I think it’s critical that our legislators and policy makers come together to evaluate the system that we’re facing right now. We’ve had some major challenges with the correctional system over a number of years.
I think it’s also important for policy makers to look holistically at what things should look like over the next several years, and I think evaluating what facilities we have and whether there are changes that need to be made is something that we need to have a healthy discussion about.
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