Madison, Wis. – The department has been in regular communication and collaboration with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office throughout this process. We have cooperated fully with Dodge County’s investigation, and we will continue to do so as we also continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing federal law enforcement investigation initiated at our request in June 2023 into potential criminal activities occurring at WCI. Maintaining the safety of people in our care and staff, as well as local communities, continues to be the DOC’s top priority. Ensuring accountability for every individual who fails to uphold the DOC’s high standards of conduct is a critical part of safety and security both within our institutions and beyond them, and we appreciate the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office’s efforts toward this important goal. However, it is in service of the Department of Corrections’ goals of transparency and accountability that we are requesting that the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office not conclude their investigation at this time. We are specifically requesting that the Dodge County Sheriff ’s Office leave its investigation open as the department’s own internal investigation remains ongoing. We are further requesting additional conversations with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office to discuss additional individuals who may be relevant to their investigation. We have worked closely with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office throughout this process and we will continue to do so until this work has been thoroughly completed. As a result of the DOC’s internal investigations at WCI that initially began in March 2023, over 20 individuals remain under internal investigation. An additional nine individuals, against whom criminal charges have not been filed at this time, are no longer employed at the department. An additional at least eight individuals at WCI remain on administrative leave based on DOC’s internal investigations, and we anticipate additional individuals will be placed on administrative leave, may be terminated, and potentially referred for criminal charges pending the conclusion of DOC’s internal or other law enforcement investigations, which remain ongoing. As with any death of any individual in our care, immediate internal investigations were initiated, and local law enforcement authorities were notified to be able to conduct their own additional investigation. On June 3, 2024, the department was first made aware of forthcoming criminal charges against several individuals being referred and charged in Dodge County. The department has not yet received the final Dodge County medical examiner’s reports on the cause of death for Cameron Williams or Donald Maier, or the investigative report from the Dodge County’s Sheriff’s Office at this point. At this time, all nine of these individuals against whom criminal charges have now been filed are either no longer employed at the department or are on unpaid administrative leave. Prior to these charges, warden excluded, all of these individuals were either under ongoing DOC internal investigation or had been placed on administrative leave or terminated based upon DOC’s internal investigations. Based upon the allegations against these nine individuals, neither the department nor the state will be providing legal representation for these individuals in these criminal proceedings. As internal and law enforcement agency investigations remain ongoing for which additional charges may be filed, we cannot comment further as to ongoing investigations or specific individuals’ statuses at this time as we continue to fully cooperate with local and federal law enforcement agencies as we have from the beginning of these processes. Additional information regarding the current status of staffing, modified movement, or other efforts at may be found here.
