The Dodge County Sheriff says the problems at Waupun Correctional Institution stem from a culture that was set from the top down. The warden and eight of his staff members were charged with felonies last week in connection with the deaths of four inmates over the past year. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says what’s disturbing is that the officers are accused of failing to carry out basic duties to care for the inmates. Schmidt says it’s also concerning that staff attempted to cover up their actions. One inmate died of dehydration and another wasn’t found for at least 12 hours after he died of a stroke. Three of the four deaths are subject to federal lawsuits. Schmidt says the question is why the correctional officers failed to provide basic care for the inmates on their watch? “That’s a really good question,” Schmidt told WFDL news. “Part of it is they have the oldest prison in the state of Wisconsin, one of the oldest prisons in the country. It does not have the facilities equipped to monitor was the water turned on or off at any given time, to be able to electronically log things that happen. So I think the environment is one, but the other part of it is is simply the accountability.” Schmidt says his recommendation would be to close both the Waupun and Green Bay Correctional Institutions and building a new prison. Meanwhile, state Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy said in a statement that more than 20 people remain under internal investigation, at least eight are on leave and nine others were fired or have retired since the probe began a year ago.
