Prisoners lack space and some say rules to curb COVID-19 are unevenly enforced
Category: Cruel and Unusual?
Posted inCoronavirus Coverage, Cruel and Unusual?, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Inmates fear ‘the invisible enemy’ in Wisconsin’s overcrowded prisons
While county jails have driven populations down significantly during the pandemic, state prisons have seen just a modest reduction in inmate numbers.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Pay-to-stay, other fees, can put jail inmates hundreds or thousands in debt
In some Wisconsin counties, inmates pay an average of $390 a month in pay-to-stay fees; advocates say such fees can criminalize poverty.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
By the numbers: Jail incarceration fees in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin Watch survey found jails across the state differ greatly in the fees they charge inmates; many do not list the information on their websites.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Hard road ahead for Gov. Tony Evers’ promise to slash Wisconsin prison population
The Democrat’s goal to reduce incarceration by 50 percent faces numerous hurdles; his own 2019-21 budget proposal calls for increasing prison beds.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Government, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin’s high supervision rate can cause — rather than prevent — longer incarceration, studies show
Supervision time in Wisconsin is third-longest in the U.S., meaning more chances for revocations and increased prison populations.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin inmates report despair, little counseling in solitary confinement that can stretch on for years
Prisoners recount suicide attempts, mental harm and lack of services in solitary confinement; former Waupun psychologist describes harsh treatment of inmates.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin prison officials quietly changed mental health status of inmates in solitary, psychologist says
When he returned from a medical leave in early 2016, psychologist Bradley Boivin discovered a troubling pattern among Waupun Correctional Institution inmates who had been held in solitary confinement. Thirteen of his patients’ mental health classifications had been changed without Boivin’s knowledge — and in his opinion, without proper assessment.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Nearly 30 years in isolation: An inmate reflects on time in solitary
LaRon McKinley, who spent 28 years in administrative confinement, says the state needs to return to rehabilitation and end long-term solitary confinement
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Judge refuses to halt force feeding of inmate in solitary confinement protest
A judge has rejected a request by a Wisconsin inmate hunger striker to discontinue force feeding as the protest against long-term solitary confinement continues.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin prison officials begin force feedings as solitary confinement protest continues
The state Department of Corrections is force feeding at least three inmates as a hunger strike aimed at ending a form of solitary confinement that can go on for years — even decades — continues for a third week.
Posted inCruel and Unusual?, Justice & Safety
Inmate hunger strike starts; aim is to end long-term isolation
About half a dozen Wisconsin prison inmates have begun refusing food as part of a protest against long-term isolation known as administrative confinement, backers of the protest said Monday.