Decades after earning his high school equivalency diploma at a state prison for young men, Christopher Medina-Kirchner is a teaching fellow and post-doctoral research scientist at Harvard Medical School. 

Medina-Kirchner was the keynote speaker during a ceremony honoring 29 graduates last week, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections announced in a press release on Wednesday. Attending the ceremony was his first visit back to the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility since his release.

“If you don’t believe that a future is possible, you’re never going to pursue it,” Medina-Kirchner said, according to the DOC. 

Citing his experience in the Ivy League, he told graduates that “I really think that what you did takes more courage.” 

“Getting an education here in prison you have to navigate challenges that most students will never understand,” he said. “You have to stay focused in an environment that makes that difficult.”

The Verge and the Racine County Eye have reported on Medina-Kirchner’s journey, with the Eye reporting that he ended up selling drugs and was in and out of the system from when he was 18 to when he was 25 years old, eventually getting out in 2013. The DOC said that at Harvard, his research involves the effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and he hopes this type of research “can help lead to evidence-based approaches to drug education and public policy.”

Nine of the graduates earned technical certificates in mechatronics from Gateway Technical College. Twenty of them earned a high school equivalency diploma (HSED), and seven of those earned their Multi-Craft Core Curriculum HSED in partnership with the Literacy Services of Wisconsin, which includes a pre-apprenticeship element within the construction building trades. 

After earning his high school equivalency degree at the prison, Medina-Kirchner earned his bachelor’s degree at UW-Milwaukee and doctorate at Columbia University, the DOC said.  

“I hope you never stop believing in yourselves,” he said during his speech. “Your future is not limited by where you started. It’s not limited by your mistakes, by your felony, or what anyone else thinks about you…Your greatest accomplishments likely still lie ahead of you. I want you all to reach for the stars, because I’m standing here proof that sometimes when you reach for one you can actually grab it.”

Staff, teachers and more than 30 family members honored graduates at the ceremony, the DOC said. Medina-Kirchner spoke with graduates individually to offer encouragement and answer questions about the opportunities and challenges graduates will face after release. 

The Racine prison hosts three graduation ceremonies each year to honor student achievements, and 142 incarcerated people graduated from high school or post-secondary programs at the facility during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the DOC said. 

Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy noted that the University of Wisconsin System’s first incarcerated bachelor’s degree recipients since 1975 were recognized last month. 

Hoy said in the press release that “there are a growing number of opportunities available to those in our care, and it’s worth celebrating the men and women who take advantage of them.”

The family of Donald Maier settled a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for $3.75 million, the plaintiffs’ lawyer announced Thursday.

In 2024, Maier died at the troubled Waupun Correctional Institution of malnutrition and dehydration. Former Waupun warden Randall Hepp and six members of his staff were charged in Maier’s death. Maier had been in the restrictive housing unit, also referred to as solitary confinement. His death was ruled a homicide. 

“It wasn’t just Don Maier’s death that was a horrific tragedy,” Jeff Scott Olson, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a press release emailed to the Wisconsin Examiner. “It was the last few days of his life, when his grip on reality drained away to the point that he was unable to communicate his needs, and his life became a living hell.”

Review of camera footage and medical records showed that security staff told a nurse of a concern about Maier not eating food for a couple of days, drinking sewage water and playing in the toilet, and she did not follow the procedure of a hunger strike, according to a criminal complaint filed in 2024. 

“Over the course of those days, dozens of people whose job it was to care for Don Maier walked by his cell, and not one of them so much as opened the door to his cell to check on him as he was lying unresponsive on the floor,” Olson said.

The nurse, Jessica Hosfelt, was charged with neglecting an incarcerated person and could receive up to three and a half years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. A telephone scheduling conference in her case is scheduled for July 2. 

Charges in the case against two Waupun employees were dropped, and three others pleaded no contest to lesser charges. Hepp, the former warden, also pleaded no contest and was fined $500. 

According to the criminal complaint, Maier’s inability to speak coherently to articulate his medical needs was likely a factor in why he didn’t get needed medical and psychological intervention. 

He either “refused or was not provided medication for any of his known medical and psychological issues” during his time in solitary confinement — except for one instance when, the complaint states, it’s not known whether he actually took the medication he was given. 

Olson blames Act 10 for staffing problems

The Maier family carried out “extensive investigation” through their lawyers, said Olson, who cast blame on Act 10, passed in 2011 under then-Gov. Scott Walker. The law removed most collective bargaining and union rights from most Wisconsin public employees, including correctional employees. 

Olson said investigation into what went wrong at the prison showed that  problems of understaffing and low staff morale in the Wisconsin prison system were directly linked to the changes implemented by Act 10.

 Olson blamed inaction by the state Legislature in the 15 years since the law took effect for the deterioration of the correctional system’s physical facilities and working conditions. A “very predictable effect” has been that even as more people are hired to work in the prisons, it’s been impossible to attract enough applicants, he said.

“This has hurt both prison inmates and prison employees, and without serious reform at the legislative level to take the pressure off, tragedies like the death of Don Maier will continue to be inevitable,” Olson said. 

Across the department’s adult prisons, the DOC’s most recent report shows a vacancy rate of 14.1% for correctional officers and sergeants. That rate is much higher in some facilities — for example, it’s 26.5% at the Waupun prison and 40.8% at Green Bay Correctional Institution — despite pay raises that took effect in October 2023.

Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy told WBAY last month that while the department tries to avoid forced overtime, it hasn’t eliminated the practice entirely. 

“We have a lot of protections in place for folks so they’re not ordered [to work overtime] too much, and we try to observe those as much as we can, we try to observe seniority and things like that,” Hoy said. “But yeah, there is forced overtime that will happen.”

Olson calls for reform 

Olson called the death “completely preventable” and said it highlights “the urgent need for prison reform, a focus on humane and respectful treatment for all residents of Wisconsin’s correctional facilities, and accountability within the corrections system.” 

The release said the family hopes the case will lead to better treatment of people in prison “so that obvious signs of distress are no longer ignored and that ongoing reforms will be put into place by the State of Wisconsin.”  

In February, a judge stayed proceedings in the family’s lawsuit at the request of the family and the DOC while they engaged in mediation, court records show. That mediation ultimately led to the settlement announced Thursday. 

Under the settlement agreement that Olson furnished, the state will pay $3.75 million, $2 million of that by June 30 and the remaining $1.75 million by July 31. All claims in the case will be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened.

The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

In Olson’s press release, Maier’s family expressed appreciation to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office for an “extremely thorough and detailed” investigation into the causes of his death. Asked for comment on the release, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt responded over email. 

 “I think I will decline [a] statement and let their statement about us stand as is, given this was civil litigation and I’m not sure if there are still other pending litigations,” Schmidt said.

A Winnebago County judge has sentenced a former prison guard to two years in prison for sexually assaulting an incarcerated man at a state prison in Oshkosh. 

Judge John Jorgensen sentenced Brandon Jeanpierre to two years of prison and five years of supervision in the community on April 9, as well as sex offender registration. 

The victim reported that Jeanpierre fondled him in his cell and performed oral sex on him in a laundry room at the prison, according to records obtained from the Winnebago County District Attorney’s office. 

According to police records, the victim, whom the Examiner is not naming because he is a victim of sexual assault, said that “although he did not verbally tell the CO to stop or physically push him off, this was not consensual and he simply went along with it because he did not know what else to do.” He said he was frozen and that “nothing like this has ever happened to him.”

Describing a conversation with a police officer, the victim told the Examiner that one of the officer’s first questions was, “Why didn’t you do anything to stop it?” That angered him, and he felt that she was shaming him. He spoke positively of his experience with a different officer, a detective who put him at ease. 

“When you’re incarcerated, what they say is law,” the victim said. “When they tell you to do something, you do it. If not, you take the risk of going to solitary confinement, or you never know.”

The victim said he doesn’t know what he could have done to prevent retaliation for not complying, such as Jeanpierre making an accusation against him. He also said he had his girlfriend call the police because he didn’t have the confidence that the Department of Corrections would do the right thing. 

In August, Assistant District Attorney Amanda Nash gave notice that the prosecution planned to introduce DNA evidence to the jury at trial. That didn’t happen, as Jeanpierre took a plea deal instead of going to trial. 

A police report says the laboratory report is confidential, but a summary of the report implies that DNA swabbed from Jeanpierre’s mouth was linked to DNA swabbed from the victim’s penis. It states that the finding in the lab report “provides a very strong support for inclusion” in the case.

By reviewing video surveillance, prison staff saw that the two men were in the laundry room together on three different occasions, according to a police report. The victim told the Examiner that the other two times in the laundry room involved Jeanpierre touching him. 

A member of the prison staff said that they were in the laundry room for a matter of seconds, with the longest period being about 30-40 seconds, according to the prosecution’s criminal complaint. The complaint says the video did not show what happened inside the room. 

The staff person who reported it “noted that it was very unusual” for an officer to go into a laundry room with the lights out for any amount of time with an incarcerated person. 

The Examiner got in touch with the victim, who was released from prison earlier this year, through his attorney, Lonnie Story. Story gave the Examiner a copy of a letter dated April 22, which he said he sent to the state. In it, Story says his client demands $5 million to settle the case without a lawsuit, and offers to negotiate, asking the state to respond within 30 days. Story told the Examiner on May 19 that he has not received a response. 

If the state does not respond “appropriately,” Story told the Examiner, he expects to bring federal civil rights claims based on the sexual abuse, as well as claims concerning the state’s response to his client’s report of sexual abuse.

Story is still in the process of gathering records, but said the case appears to involve both abuse and “substantial questions” about the response after the victim reported it.

Prosecutor asked for ‘strong message’

Jeanpierre wasn’t physically violent, but his ability to punish a prisoner who did not comply with his demands created a serious power imbalance, and  “loss of freedom can be a far more significant threat than physical force,” Nash said. 

She recommended he spend five years imprisoned and five years on supervision in the community, the maximum amount of time for a third-degree sexual assault. 

The victim thought Jeanpierre might be able to do something that would affect his release date, Nash said. She added that, although he was afraid, he came forward and made sure Jeanpierre couldn’t use his position to violate and harm others. 

“To take a position of trust granted to the defendant by the State and use it to sexually assault someone is simply unacceptable,” Nash said. “There needs to be a strong message against this type of conduct.” 

Nash noted that a more severe second-degree charge was read into the case. Jeanpierre wasn’t found guilty of that charge, but Jorgensen was able to consider it when sentencing him for the third-degree charge. 

In a notice to the court in December, Nash said Jeanpierre’s plea deal reflected his willingness to take responsibility for his actions and avoided the need for his victim to go through the stress of testifying at trial. 

Mentally and emotionally, the victim has suffered “immeasurable pain,” he  wrote in a statement to the court. 

“Being taken advantage [of] by someone who was supposed to protect me has caused me to regress to when I was taken advantage of as a child,” he wrote. “The sadness, anger, depression, [sleepless] nights and thoughts of self harm are something I worked years to fight through only to relive it all as a middle aged man. [It] is something that can never be healed.” 

Defense, DOC recommended 90 days in jail 

At the sentencing hearing, defense attorney Scott Ceman said he agreed with the Department of Corrections’ recommendation for Jeanpierre’s sentence. 

When Jeanpierre was found guilty in January, Jorgensen ordered a pre-sentence investigation to help him decide what Jeanpierre’s sentence should be. Jorgensen explained to Jeanpierre that a probation agent was going to prepare a report on him, including his background and the facts of the case. The investigation is confidential and so could not be reviewed by the Examiner.

However, Jorgensen referred to a DOC recommendation during the sentencing hearing, saying that he recognized “the Department of Corrections recommendation of straight probation, 90 days jail.” 

He said he did not think that addressed the seriousness of Jeanpierre’s offense. 

Ceman said he joined the department’s request and asked for “one to two years initial confinement, [and] three to four years extended supervision [in the community] imposed but stayed.” 

In a stayed sentence, a convicted person is placed on probation in the community. If Jorgensen had sided with Ceman, Jeanpierre wouldn’t have had to serve prison time unless he violated the conditions of his probation. 

Ceman asked for Jeanpierre to receive 90 days in jail and three to four years of supervision in the community, as long as he didn’t violate his probation. 

Jorgensen disagreed, saying that if Jeanpierre did not go to prison, “it could send the wrong message to other guards as well as other inmates that they are at the peril of the decisions of the guards, and there will be no ramifications or [no] serious ramifications if they are violated.”

Nash and Ceman also had different views on whether Jeanpierre regretted his actions. Ceman said that Jeanpierre regrets his conduct and has accepted responsibility for it. 

At one point in the sentencing hearing, Nash expressed concern about the pre-sentence investigation’s recommendation. 

According to Nash, the agent who conducted the investigation noted that Jeanpierre was “minimizing or refusing to accept responsibility” but recommended that he receive probation. Nash had concerns that Jeanpierre “views this as something that was OK or something that the victim was a part of.” 

“The victim had no say, he had no control over his own life, and he was sexually assaulted by someone who could take so much from him,” Nash said. 

According to court documents filed April 9, Jeanpierre is planning to seek post-conviction relief. It’s unclear what grounds he plans to use for that challenge. He declined to speak during the sentencing hearing, and did not respond when the Examiner reached out to him in prison through the messaging app GettingOut.

A search of online Wisconsin circuit court records turned up no prior criminal convictions for Jeanpierre. Online DOC records indicate he has been incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution since April 21. 

According to a notice from Nash to the court, the prosecution believed the victim was comfortable with the plea deal and the state’s recommendation for sentencing. 

The victim said he didn’t realize it would be “such a minimal sentence” and he wishes Jeanpierre had been given a longer sentence, but he’s trying to be able to move on from the situation. 

Defense arguments 

Jeanpierre’s attorney, Scott Ceman, appeared to question whether the victim had consented to the assault, arguing there wasn’t evidence of Jeanpierre threatening him.  He acknowledged that under the law, an incarcerated person cannot consent to sexual activity with a staff member.

Due to the authority staff members have over incarcerated people, incarcerated people can never truly consent to sexual activity with a staff member even if they agree, a Wisconsin Department of Corrections handbook states. It’s always illegal for a staff member to engage in  sexual activity with an incarcerated person. 

Ceman alleged at the sentencing hearing that as a prosecutor, he was a “strong advocate” for the position that the Department of Corrections does not adequately train its employees in the Prison Rape Elimination Act. (Ceman left the Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office in 2019 citing his dissatisfaction with the wages prosecutors receive). He claimed he asked Jeanpierre what PREA training he received and that it was “really nothing.” 

Ceman alleged this leads to “grooming-type behavior” by incarcerated people who then report they’ve been sexually assaulted and are moved to a better living area within the prison. Jeanpierre’s victim strongly disagrees with Ceman’s implication and told the Examiner that the attorney was engaging in victim blaming in front of the judge. 

He said he was previously incarcerated for 10 years and never accused anyone of sexual assault, and asked why he would do so when he was incarcerated a second time and serving a shorter sentence. The assault took place in October 2024, and he was released from prison earlier this year. Court records show none of his convictions were sexual in nature. 

The Department of Corrections did not respond to requests for comment from the Examiner. Its website states that the agency has zero tolerance for sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Department policy states that the DOC tracks such incidents, identifies core causes and takes corrective actions. 

The agency trains all employees, contractors and volunteers, and provides incarcerated people with a “comprehensive orientation” about their right to be free from sexual abuse, harassment and report-related retaliation, the policy states.

Employees receive training every two years and “refresher information” on non-training years, covering topics such as the dynamics of sexual abuse and sexual harassment behind bars, according to the policy. 

Victim describes multiple assaults 

The victim told the Examiner that prior to the events described in the prosecution’s criminal complaint, Jeanpierre initiated conversation with him, such as asking him about his family.

According to a police report, the victim believed that the first assault took place sometime after 8 p.m. in his cell. He only knew that people called the officer who assaulted him “Pierre.” 

He said that Jeanpierre said “let me see it” before reaching inside his cell from the doorway and grabbing his crotch. He believed Jeanpierre was drinking because his breath smelled like alcohol. 

Jeanpierre told him that Jeanpierre was going to be moving to a “Q unit,” he reported. He said Jeanpierre told him to make a request so he could also be moved there. 

He said he sent a piece of paper to get himself moved to Q unit through what the criminal complaint described as “some sort of inter-prison mail,” and Jeanpierre gave him a small piece of paper with a phone number on it. 

The victim said the piece of paper he had received from Jeanpierre had been thrown out, and that he had rewritten the number on another piece of paper, which he gave to another incarcerated man. A piece of paper found in that man’s room had the personal phone number that the prison had on file for Jeanpierre. 

The victim said he didn’t ask why the officer was asking him to move to that unit, and that, according to the report, he “minds his own business, that he wants to get out on time, doesn’t cause trouble and when a CO [correctional officer] asks him to do something, he just simply does it.” 

Some time between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., the victim said, Jeanpierre walked by him about two to three times and swiped the back of his hand near his crotch. 

He said that he was working on the janitorial staff that night, and around 10:30 or 11 p.m., Jeanpierre told him to come into the laundry room, where Jeanpierre pulled down the victim’s shorts and put his penis in his mouth without his consent, the victim said.  

He added that after he was assaulted in the laundry room, he went to his room and stayed there for the night. 

The Examiner reviewed records that give insight into the state’s investigation into the sexual assault, including the transcript of an interview on Nov. 22 with Eric Henslin, identified as an administrative captain at Oshkosh Correctional Institution. The victim said he obtained those records by requesting them from the Department of Corrections. 

A camera covers the area of the door that provides access to the laundry room, Henslin said. A window allows the camera to see inside, but the lights were off. After the allegation of sexual assault, a memo went out to direct staff that all lights would remain on in the laundry rooms, he said.

Chad Schepp, the interviewer and a corrections investigator for the DOC, asked Henslin about the victim’s allegation of smelling alcohol on Jeanpierre. Henslin said that if a supervisor doing roll call had any suspicion of Jeanpierre being under the influence of a mind-altering substance, it would be addressed. 

Incarcerated man tipped off Examiner

The Examiner learned about the prosecution of Jeanpierre from Jerry Wheeler, 60, who has spent the majority of his life since 2002 incarcerated and is currently at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution. 

The prosecution’s criminal complaint against Jeanpierre referenced an incarcerated man identified as “JLW.” Online court records from Wheeler’s past offenses state his name as “Jerry L. Wheeler.”  

The victim said he went to Wheeler for advice the morning after the assault, according to the prosecution’s criminal complaint. Wheeler said he didn’t really know the victim and had talked to him a couple of times since he’s been at the Oshkosh prison, the complaint states. 

Wheeler said the victim initially spoke hypothetically about how to report a sexual assault and what to do if he was afraid of retaliation, and that he later admitted he had been assaulted by a correctional officer the previous night, the complaint says. The victim told the Examiner that Wheeler convinced him to report the assault to the police. 

The DOC’s response so far 

Jeanpierre had been with the Department of Corrections for nine months before the incident, according to Ceman’s remarks at the sentencing hearing. A police report dated the day after the assault says that Jeanpierre was being placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. 

Jeanpierre resigned on Nov. 6, 2024, about a week after the assault, according to the records obtained by the victim. He did not respond to the DOC’s request to interview him.

A DOC report supplied by the victim states that the department did not interview the victim because of “the graphic nature of the incident,” concern about re-victimizing him and the fact that police already had a detailed statement. 

When the Examiner brought this up to the victim, he said he could sort of understand that but he wished someone from the DOC had asked him if he wanted to be interviewed. 

The victim said that after the assault, other incarcerated people started to hear about it, and not from him. Incarcerated people told him that correctional officers were talking about it. The victim said he went to security and reported concern for his safety. He was moved to a different institution. 

Henslin, the prison captain interviewed by the DOC, said that the victimwas moved from the Oshkosh prison to Redgranite Correctional Institution because of the allegation of sexual assault, according to records supplied by the victim. He was later transferred between multiple other prisons. 

The victim spoke positively of his experience with an advocate from a sexual assault services provider, but negatively of the DOC’s response to the assault. 

The victim said that “every time I went to a new institution, no one spoke to me… anytime I would ask about the investigation or ask about specific paperwork pertaining to the investigation, no one knew anything.” 

He said he was told staff would have to reach out to someone else and find out. Prison psychological services had to fact-check that he was telling the truth when he brought the assault up to them, he said. 

Department of Corrections policy states that the agency provides a coordinated victim-centered response to reports of sexual abuse and sexual harassment, including providing medical and mental health services to victims as appropriate while investigating all allegations. 

In the victim’s view, the DOC doesn’t have a great track record of being honest or caring for incarcerated people. 

“Victims cannot be silent,” he said. 

How frequently are sexual assaults reported in Wisconsin prisons? 

In 2024, Wisconsin’s adult prisons saw 27 substantiated claims of sexual abuse and 66 substantiated claims of sexual harassment, according to an annual report from the DOC. (2025 data is available on the department’s website, but not at the same level of detail as the 2024 report.)

Most of the substantiated allegations for 2024 involved an incarcerated person abusing or harassing another incarcerated person. Six substantiated allegations involved a staff member, contractor or volunteer abusing or harassing an incarcerated person.

Adult prisons saw 186 unsubstantiated claims of sexual abuse and 241 unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment in 2024. Most involved incarcerated people allegedly abusing or harassing other incarcerated people. 

Ninety-eight claims were determined to be unfounded, and over a third of those claims were made against staff, contractors or volunteers. 

The report’s category for a staff member sexually abusing or harassing an incarcerated person is broader than the category for sexual abuse by an incarcerated person. For example, if an incarcerated person consents to sexual contact with a staff member, it is categorized as sexual abuse. That’s not the case for sexual contact between two willing incarcerated people. 

Jeanpierre’s conviction wasn’t the first of its kind in Wisconsin. In 2018, former correctional officer Alex Wouts was sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexually assaulting several incarcerated people, the Associated Press reported. Wouts threatened discipline and offered privileges to victims. 

The DOC’s 2024 report included a list of specific steps the department took in 2024 to safeguard against sexual abuse, which included making physical changes within facilities and holding various staff trainings. 

National PREA standards require audits for covered facilities at least once during each three-year cycle. In 2023, an auditor with the Colorado Department of Corrections audited the Oshkosh prison and reported it was in compliance with standards. 

As for Department of Corrections staff, public DOC data reports five incidents in 2025 in which staff experienced unwanted sexual contact from incarcerated people. 

Awaiting more records

On April 30, the Examiner made a public records request to the Department of Corrections for Jeanpierre’s disciplinary records. 

On May 1, the Examiner made a public records request to the Oshkosh Police Department for the final case report for the case that led to the prosecution of Jeanpierre. The department denied the request, citing an ongoing investigation. 

A few days after the Examiner took the matter to Winnebago County District Attorney Eric Sparr,  citing state public records law and the fact that Jeanpierre had already been convicted, Sparr said that he understood the matter to be resolved and that the department should be fulfilling the request. 

The Examiner has received at least some of the police reports in the case through a request to Sparr’s office, but has not yet received all records requested from the Oshkosh Police Department. 

On May 5, a police records clerk told the Examiner that she is unsure what was still being investigated, and that the report has been approved to be sent. Using language from state public records law, she said the Examiner would receive the report as soon as practicable and without delay. 

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This year’s college graduates include the first incarcerated students to be awarded bachelor’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin System in over 50 years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

“I would say education is the best rehabilitation there is,” said student Christobal Guerrero-Kresovich, according to the department’s press release. “It trumps anything that anyone could do inside the prison system.” 

Guerrero-Kresovich lives at the Thompson Correctional Center and works a job in the community, according to the department. 

“I’m looking forward to turning in my blue collar for a white collar,” Guerrero-Kresovich said, according to the department. “When I go to the job board and it says ‘bachelor’s degree required,’ I know in 60 days I’ll be able to apply for those positions.” 

Graduation ceremonies this week at Oakhill and Stanley Correctional Institutions recognize the first bachelor’s degrees any UW has awarded to incarcerated people since 1975, the agency said. 

Fifteen current or former Oakhill residents were awarded bachelor’s degrees Monday from UW-Green Bay; eight other students are earning associate’s degrees. At Stanley, eight students will received bachelor’s degrees Wednesday from UW-Eau Claire and six will receive bachelor’s degrees from UW-Stout. 

UW programs for incarcerated students are offered primarily face-to-face inside the prisons, the department said. They focus on developing skills in communication, management and leadership.

Guerrero-Kresovich is one of the first incarcerated people to earn a UW bachelor’s degree through the Prison Education Initiative, a UW-Madison project that builds partnerships between the UW system and the Department of Corrections. The UW offers courses at 11 Department of Corrections facilities across the state, according to the department. 

The initiative launched in 2022 with a $5.7 million Workforce Innovation Grant, one of a group of grants that “support innovative solutions to the state’s workforce needs,” the corrections agency said.

“Wisconsin believes in second chances,” Gov. Tony Evers said in the press release. He said that investing in education in correctional facilities is a “common-sense strategy” to meet the economy’s need for skilled workers and help people gain the skills they need to succeed.  

The initiative has aided more than 200 students who have earned associate’s degrees or other UW credentials designed to increase their employment opportunities after release, reduce the number of people committing new crimes and “build stronger communities across Wisconsin.” 

“They are learning how to contribute positively to society,” Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy said. “The average incarceration in Wisconsin is less than three years. These individuals will quickly have the opportunity to put their education to work and help move Wisconsin forward.”

 

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Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy read the names of 10 prison and community corrections workers described as seriously injured in the line of duty in 2025. 

“We work in close contact with a sometimes challenging population, and the only thing keeping it from being more dangerous is the professionalism and dedication of you and your colleagues,” Hoy said during the 2026 Secretary’s Awards ceremony last week at the Mitby Theater at Madison College, honoring standout staff. 

Among those recognized were the department’s legislative director, an officer who has grown fresh produce used in a facility kitchen and the New Lisbon Correctional Institution treatment team for restricted housing — where an incarcerated person may be sent as punishment for a violation.

The department’s first Corey Proulx award was named for a youth counselor who died in 2024 after a teen attacked him at the Lincoln Hills youth prison. Proulx’s death had a tremendous impact on the department, Hoy said. 

Hoy said that Lincoln Hills staff have created an area at Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Schools for contemplation and reflection in Proulx’s honor, which “is beautiful and it just centers you.”

“As much as Corey’s death impacted us, his life meant so much more … Corey said, quote, ‘If I could make a difference in just one youth’s life, it will be worth it,’” Hoy said. “This award honors an employee who lives that philosophy every day.” 

A treatment specialist at the minimum-security Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility received the award. The facility aims to treat substance abuse and related issues, preparing people to re-enter their communities, the DOC’s website says. 

“When our clients feel loved, heard, respected and understood, it shows them that the world is not as harsh of a place as they thought,” Hoy said. “It gives them hope for their future and the ability to advocate for themselves.” 

Hoy also recognized staff who were honored with a lifesaving and valor award. 

“So what does this look like day to day?” Hoy said. “I’m talking about the staff at the La Crosse [probation and parole] office who leapt into action when a six-week-old premature baby stopped breathing. They delivered first aid to the infant, called 911 and kept calm. The baby recovered after a short hospital stay.”

Hoy said that at Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, staff saw a person trying to climb a fence overlooking a 16-foot drop onto Interstate 43. The team helped the person off the fence and to safety, “stopping what would have likely been a successful suicide attempt,” Hoy said. 

As they were securing the first person, they saw another person climbing the fence across the street, Hoy said, and the team escorted that person back to safety as well. 

Senior probation and parole agent Amanda Herson received a safety award for her work on a situation involving a person who stalked a young woman at a technical college in Green Bay, according to an account of events announced by an awards ceremony emcee. 

That person was a client of Herson’s on correctional supervision in the community. Herson conducted a lengthy investigation into the stalking, which took place over two different semesters. 

Law enforcement was initially not interested in investigating, but Herson’s advocacy led to law enforcement seeing the severity of the stalking behaviors, the emcee said. 

Herson’s client, who was already on supervision for stalking multiple minors and an adult, was eventually charged with a new stalking offense.

“Agent Herson dedicated significant time to ensure the victim was safe and had a voice,” the emcee said. 

Eric Weigel has been a correctional officer with the DOC for over 22 years, according to a nomination read by an event emcee. He won a SALUTE (Service, Awareness, Leadership, Uniqueness, Team and Excellence) award in the category of “uniqueness.”

Weigel is currently the New Lisbon Correctional Institution horticulture officer, or “the garden guy.” As the horticulture officer for the past 10 years, he grew an average of 25,000 pounds of fresh produce per season, which was used in the institution kitchen for staff, meals for the incarcerated and reduced food costs. 

Weigel maintains a partnership between the New Lisbon prison and a national wildlife refuge, which he provides with native wildflower seeds. He’s one of the “very few” people at the prison who can perform all the duties of every single traditional post in the institution and do it “flawlessly,” and incarcerated people and staff listen to him and respect what he has to say, the emcee said.

Department of Corrections leadership made stops across the state last week. May 3-9 is recognized as Correctional Employees Week. 

Hoy said people who work in DOC institutions “know there’s one hot topic out there right now, and that is commutations.”

Last month, Gov. Tony Evers ordered the creation of a commutations advisory board, signaling that he is willing to consider reducing the sentences of incarcerated people in Wisconsin who meet certain criteria. Hoy said he spoke with a records supervisor who told him her office will get two to three requests for records reviews every week from incarcerated people, but they had gotten a hundred in the last week. 

Hoy said the supervisor told him that if their extra work meant one or two men at the facility “might have an opportunity for a second chance and to sort of take back their life, that it would all be worth it.”

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Racine County and two juvenile detention center staff members in Caledonia, Wisconsin have been sued for allegedly using excessive force on a teen. In a statement, the county says it has made changes since the incident. 

The teen’s mother, Kianna Reed, brought the lawsuit against the county and Robert and Jordan Knight, described in the suit as former and current security coordinators. The facility, the Jonathan Delagrave Youth Development and Care Center, opened less than a month before the incident. 

The lawsuit alleges that on May 27, 2025, the teen, who suffers from emotional and psychological disabilities, became emotionally dysregulated and the Knights egged him on and physically attacked him with excessive force that violated his Eighth Amendment rights. . 

In December, the state public defender’s office released video footage of part of the incident, which appeared to show four staff members directing the then-15-year-old to move from a spot by a wall in a hallway, possibly to a nearby room, and the teen not moving, the Examiner reported. 

After a staff member took a swing at the teen, the situation devolved into a struggle. The teen was struck repeatedly by staff before and after he was on the ground. 

“I’m devastated. No mother should ever have to watch her child be beaten by the very people entrusted with his safety,” Reed said, according to the December release from the public defender’s office. “Seeing that video and knowing my son is still in that facility is terrifying.”  According to the lawsuit, which was filed April 28, the teen is no longer at the facility as of April 9. 

The lawsuit says his placement in the facility stemmed from being found guilty of a misdemeanor count of retail theft and a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. 

On the evening of May 27, 2025, while the teen was in the facility dayroom, he “became dysregulated due to one or more of his disabilities, and he began arguing with another (facility) resident,” the lawsuit alleges. An employee requested assistance from safety and security coordinators.

The Knights responded to the dayroom, and the teen willingly walked with them to the intake area with no physical resistance, the lawsuit alleges. Two other coordinators accompanied them to the intake room.

In December, the county said that the teen made multiple threats of physical violence to other juveniles and staff. During the walk to the intake area, he was “mouthing off” to the Knights, who egged him on, the lawsuit alleges. The teen told Jordan Knight he would beat him up but “made no physical contact or aggressive moves toward Jordan Knight.” 

In the intake area, Robert Knight pointed in the teen’s face and screamed at him to “stop making threats,” the lawsuit states. 

The lawsuit says Knight told the teen to enter a holding room and repeatedly said “go ahead then.” It says that without physical provocation or physical resistance from the teen, he punched the teen in the face.

The lawsuit alleges that the teen did not punch, kick or otherwise try to injure the Knights during the incident. Robert and Jordan Knight hit him over 20 times with closed fists, knee strikes and elbow strikes, it says.

The teen experienced physical injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress and other damages, the lawsuit says.

According to the public defender’s office, the teen had bruises, swelling on his right eye, blurred vision and headaches, scrapes and cuts and dried blood in his ear, based on records from evaluations arranged by the facility. 

The county executive’s office sent a statement to the Examiner, saying that after the incident, Racine County conducted an internal review of policies, procedures and operational practices at the center, with protocol updates receiving final approval from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. 

“Racine County Human Services is dedicated to continuous improvement. It is imbedded in our operations with the goal for the highest quality of services for those entrusted in our care,” the county asserted in a written statement. 

The county stated that as part of that review, it implemented additional measures focused on supervisor practices, staff training and continued development on de-escalation, trauma-informed care and evidence-based responses for youth with complex behavioral and mental health needs. 

The county said it also reviewed treatment-oriented models used in other facilities serving youth with significant behavioral or mental health challenges “to inform ongoing operational improvements.”

Racine County said in December that “the primarily involved staff member” was immediately placed on administrative leave after the incident and resigned within three days. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in December that this was Robert Knight and that Knight said the teen was displaying signs of aggression at the time of the incident. He said his actions were justified based on the teen’s history at the center.  

The Journal Sentinel reported that he said he intended to force the boy back and not actually strike him but that this is not apparent in the video. 

Knight said he resigned because of a shift toward working with more youth with mental health issues, according to the Journal Sentinel. 

The lawsuit alleges that he resigned to avoid investigation of his conduct and actions. 

A different worker seen repeatedly striking Anthony was ordered to complete eight hours of remedial training, according to the public defender’s office release in December. The Journal Sentinel reported that this was Jordan Knight, who, according to the lawsuit, is still working at the facility.

In December, the county said that law enforcement and independent human services agencies fully investigated and reviewed the incident. It said the details of the investigation and relevant video were provided to the Racine County District Attorney’s Office, and that the office declined to pursue prosecution. 

On Friday, the Examiner asked the district attorney’s office for a statement on why the office declined to pursue prosecution. District Attorney Tricia Hanson said in an email that the lawsuit does not change her decision. She said the burden of proof in a criminal case is significantly higher than in the civil lawsuit. 

In December, the public defender’s office called for a “full-scale” investigation into conditions at the facility and the qualifications of staff members who interact with children. State Public Defender Jennifer Bias said that meaningful reforms to how children are treated in the juvenile justice system are needed. 

In its statement on Friday, the county said it will respond to the allegations through the legal process and will not further discuss the pending lawsuit. 

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Update: A motion hearing took place in the case of the teen charged in a Lincoln Hills staff person’s death on Wednesday afternoon. Online court records indicate that his pleas have been withdrawn. He faces charges of one count of first-degree reckless homicide and two counts of battery by a prisoner. A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 3.

A teen charged in the death of a staff member at the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison in 2024 is asking for a new decision on whether his case should be moved to juvenile court. 

The teen, JH (the Examiner is not using his full name because his case is potentially being heard in juvenile court) turned 18 this year but was 16 at the time of the death of Corey Proulx after an altercation at the Lincoln Hills youth prison in Irma, Wisconsin. 

According to the criminal complaint, JH obtained a cup of a liquid substance believed to be soap from another youth and threw it at a staff member before punching her repeatedly. 

He then went outside into a courtyard where other youth were present, followed by Proulx, the complaint says. When Proulx approached him, he struck Proulx multiple times. Proulx fell to the ground, struck his head on the pavement and was later declared brain dead. 

The complaint says that JH said he had built up aggression toward a female staff member because he believed she was abusing her power and treating him unfairly. He said he planned to attack her and had asked another youth to obtain the soap from staff. 

JH pleaded guilty/not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to a count of second-degree reckless homicide in connection with Proulx’s death, the Associated Press reported in January, as well as guilty to a count of battery by a prisoner.  

He “entered into a plea agreement that partially resolves the case involving the sad and tragic death of (Proulx),” his attorney Aaron Nelson said in an email to the AP. “(JH), who has had a life filled with trauma and suffering, realizes that nothing will compensate the victims for their loss and suffering.” Nelson filed a motion for his client to be allowed to withdraw his pleas. District Attorney Kristopher Ellis said the state is not objecting to the motion. 

Nelson made the motion in February, two weeks after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals released a decision in the case of a juvenile who was charged in the death of his mother when he was 10 years old. The Court of Appeals decision may lead to a new determination over whether or not JH’s case should go to juvenile court. Nelson wrote in the motion that the previous pleas are “null and void” due to the Court of Appeals decision. 

Online court records show a motion hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, and another hearing is scheduled for June 3. 

When juveniles are alleged to have committed certain crimes, such as first-degree intentional homicide, their cases first go to adult criminal court in Wisconsin. An accused juvenile can try to transfer their case to juvenile court through the reverse waiver procedure. 

State law lays out three criteria for a reverse waiver determination. The juvenile must prove that all three are more probably true than not:

1. If the juvenile is convicted, the juvenile could not receive adequate treatment in the criminal justice system.
2. Moving the case to juvenile court would not depreciate the seriousness of the offense. 
3. It is not necessary to keep the case where it is to deter the juvenile or other juveniles from committing the violation that the juvenile is accused of. 

The Court of Appeals found that these criteria are unconstitutional to the extent they don’t require circuit courts to consider the unique attributes of youth identified by the United States Supreme Court. 

The criteria don’t require the impacts of the juvenile’s youth to be considered before determining whether they are tried as an adult, the decision says. 

“Because children’s characters are not well formed, and because children are more capable of change, ‘a greater possibility exists that a minor’s character deficiencies will be reformed,’ the decision says.

They don’t give a juvenile a “meaningful opportunity” to prove that they are not “one of the ‘rare and unfortunate cases’ that warrant treating the juvenile as having the same culpability as an adult,” the decision says. 

The Court of Appeals decision may lead to JH receiving a new reverse waiver determination, which would decide whether his case should be moved to juvenile court. 

Nelson didn’t comment for this article about the chances of JH’s case being moved to juvenile court, but he spoke about the Court of Appeals decision in the Mann-Tate case of a boy who was charged with the shooting death of his mother when he was 10 years old. Nelson is also one of that boy’s attorneys at the trial court level. 

In Nelson’s experience, successful reverse waiver determinations are extremely rare. The standard for success is incredibly difficult to meet, and he’s aware of two cases in the state where this has happened, he said.

Nelson said that the appeals court decision in Mann-Tate gives juveniles a better chance of getting their cases moved to juvenile court, but he’s not sure how much better.

“What I don’t know is whether that improves it from a 1% chance to 2% chance, or some greater impact than that,” Nelson said. “I think it’s going to be very dependent on every individual case, and every individual judge.”

In addition, the state has appealed the Court of Appeals decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has not yet said whether it will take the case. 

As of February, a jury trial is set to begin in JH’s case later this year, on Oct. 21, and online record of an April 29 scheduling conference states that the court was to “remain holding the October dates.” A status conference is scheduled for Aug. 20. 

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Advocates for people incarcerated in Wisconsin prisons gave input for a planned update of the state prison code in a virtual hearing Monday afternoon. 

The hearing gave members of the public a chance to comment on the statement of scope for the upcoming review, which broadly outlines the Wisconsin Department of Corrections plans to update rules regarding resources available in state prisons. 

The advocacy group Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO) said in a Facebook post on Sunday that the policies in Chapter 309 of Wisconsin’s administrative code “directly shape daily life for incarcerated people,” including food, visits, hygiene and religious practices. 

“Whether you’ve been incarcerated, have a loved one inside, or simply believe in dignity and fairness your voice belongs here,” the group said. 

Questions at the hearing included whether the department would be speaking with incarcerated people about the upcoming rule update; a DOC employee said there are no specific plans at this point. 

The last time the section of the state’s prison code relating to resources for people in prison was significantly revised was more than a decade ago, with the revision completed in 2013, according to the scope statement. The agency would update the entire section to reflect changes in the law and changes in DOC operations and practices. The scope statement cites a 2018 law as an example of a change that needs to be addressed. 

The alternative to the update is to keep “outdated policies which do not adequately reflect the current state of the law and a rule which needs clarification and reform,” the scope statement said. The updates, it added, will likely not have an economic impact on the agency.

Susan Franzen of the advocacy group Ladies of SCI brought up a section of the code regarding leisure time for incarcerated people. It states that the DOC “shall provide as much leisure time activity as possible for inmates, consistent with available resources and scheduled programs and work.” Incarcerated people are to be allowed to participate in leisure time activities for at least four hours per week, and institutions that have the facilities to allow more “should do so.” 

The code states that leisure time activity is “free time outside the cell or room during which the inmate may be involved in activities such as recreational reading, sports, film and television viewing, and handicrafts.” 

Franzen asked whether there is monitoring to make sure incarcerated people are getting as much time as they can outside or in a dayroom. She said she’s heard some facilities structure meals and standard counts in a way that leads to people spending up to an hour in their cells after a meal, and asked if there is a way to improve efficiency and allow people to spend more time outside of their cells. 

Another section of the code mentioned by Franzen says that a warden will allow an incarcerated person to have 12 adult visitors on the visiting list. A warden can approve more than 12 visitors on the list if the first 12 are close family members. 

A DOC visitation policy for adult prisons that was updated earlier this year generally allows for this to occur. It also says that any additions or deletions for an individual visitor on the list are allowed once every six months. Franzen questioned why incarcerated people can’t be allowed more visitors on the list. 

Since the last revision, the state has seen court decisions addressing correctional issues including religious practices, mail and personal property, which the proposed rule will take into consideration, the scope statement says. The agency would also make clarifications to the rules and cut outdated parts when necessary. 

The chapter addresses resources for incarcerated people in state prisons, including mail, news media, publications, visitation, special events, access to the courts, personal property, food, personal hygiene, leisure time activities, telephone calls, clothing, canteen, inmate account funds, inmate compensation and religious practice, the scope statement says. 

According to the Department of Corrections, members of the public who weighed in must also submit their comments in writing, and written comments submitted by May 1 will receive the same consideration as comments made during the hearing. 

Comments can be mailed, emailed or submitted on the Wisconsin State Legislature website. 

Caitlin Washburn, administrative rules coordinator for the DOC, said there will be opportunity for additional feedback once the proposed rule and changes have been drafted. She said there will be at least one additional public hearing and a public comment period during which people can submit written comments.

The Wisconsin State Legislature’s website allows interested people to receive personalized e-mail notifications, including administrative rules notices. 

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Wisconsin spends less on law enforcement and on its judicial and legal systems than the majority of states, but it’s in the top 12 for spending on its prison and corrections system, according to a new report published Tuesday. 

The report, from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, investigates how the state is faring on issues like crime, racial disparities and its prison system. The 104-page report, titled “Cross Examination: A comprehensive review of Wisconsin’s criminal justice system,” tracks topics including state spending on criminal justice, crime rates over decades and a changing prison population.

State incarceration rate draws closer to national

As of Dec. 31, 2022, for every 100,000 Wisconsin residents, 311 of them were imprisoned in state or federal correctional facilities, the report says. 

Although this was below the national rate of 355 people per 100,000, the difference between the state and the nation was “considerably wider” a decade earlier, the report says. 

Wisconsin ranked 23rd among other states. Indiana and Michigan had higher incarceration rates, while Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota had “considerably lower” rates. 

The rate of violent crime has risen in Wisconsin over time despite a decline nationwide, the report finds. Wisconsin’s rate of violent crime remains lower than the national rate. The state has followed a national trend of steadily declining property crime. 

Criminal justice spending 

In 2022, Wisconsin spent less than the national average on state and local law enforcement, ranking 32nd in the country, the report finds. Judicial and legal spending was also below average, at 35th. 

The report says that over the last 15 years, the population of county jails in Wisconsin has declined considerably. The jail population was roughly 20% lower in the average month in 2023 compared to 2003.

However, Wisconsin’s corrections spending, which includes the prison system and monitoring people on community supervision,was above the national average and ranked 12th in the country, greater than all other Midwest states except Nebraska. 

Per capita, Wisconsin spends about the same as the national average on its criminal justice system, the report finds. 

Costs related to corrections are likely to go up from wage bumps for prison staff that the Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers approved to counteract persistent understaffing, and from growing medical costs of an aging prison population, the report says. 

The aging prison population “likely means” increasing health care needs among prisoners, and may lead to changes in the Department of Corrections budget, the report suggests. 

While people 60 or older are a minority of people arrested or incarcerated in Wisconsin, the number in that age group who have been arrested and have faced court cases “have grown considerably,” the report says. The incarceration rate for adults over 60 in Wisconsin has doubled since 2010.

The report says that the prison population is getting older both because incarcerated people are aging while in the system and because more older adults are being admitted into the system. 

Growth in violent crime, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and other public order offenses are among the factors that have driven these trends, the report says. The long-term impact of the truth-in-sentencing law and people serving extremely long sentences may also be a factor. 

Racial disparities 

The Wisconsin Policy Forum called racial disparities a “clear and persistent trend across Wisconsin’s

justice system,” with a disproportionate number of Black Wisconsinites among crime victims, among people arrested and among people who are incarcerated or on supervision in the community. 

Wisconsin has the second-largest disparity of any state between Black and white incarceration rates, the report finds. High rates of poverty in the city of Milwaukee worsen these trends. 

The number of Black people incarcerated in Wisconsin has decreased to 8,965 in 2023 from 9,489 in 2000, according to the report, while the number of incarcerated white adults increased to 11,627 from 9,983 in the same period, according to the report. Despite that shift, “Black residents were highly overrepresented in Wisconsin’s prisons in 2023,” the report states.  

Overcrowded, understaffed prisons 

The state adult prison population fell in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has since risen closer to pre-pandemic levels, the report states. Many criminal cases delayed during the height of the pandemic have finally been processed, leading to an increase in people being sentenced for crimes —  a major factor behind recent increases in incarceration in Wisconsin, according to the report. 

The average number of youth in state prisons has plummeted to 77 in 2024. County governments run 12 centers in Wisconsin for youth sentenced to secure detention for lower-level offenses. Generally, the reported number of youth housed at these facilities has remained lower since 2010 than in the preceding decade, “when their numbers often exceeded 300,” the report says. 

In its conclusion, the report says that Wisconsin’s correctional system comes with “significant financial and human costs.” For example, “overcrowding, understaffing and aging infrastructure of prisons such as Green Bay and Waupun Correctional Institutions has also led to several deaths and prolonged lockdowns in recent years.” 

The report says the Department of Corrections has made progress on the issues of staff turnover and vacancies. 

The department’s adult facilities have an overall vacancy rate of 14.8% for correctional officers and sergeants, according to the latest data on the department’s website. However, the percentage of vacancies varies by facility; for example, at Green Bay Correctional Institution, this vacancy rate is much higher, at 42.1%.  

The report says that the question of whether and when to close prisons at Green Bay and Waupun has not been settled, and that Evers’ proposed plan to make changes to the prison system was almost entirely removed from the 2025-2027 state budget. 

But even if the governor’s entire proposal had been approved, “the problems of a large, increasingly expensive and increasingly elderly prison population would remain,” the report says. 

The Public Welfare Foundation, which commissioned the Wisconsin Policy Forum study, provides funding for the Examiner’s Criminal Justice Reporting Project. 

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections is making progress on creating a program allowing incarcerated mothers who meet certain requirements to keep physical custody of their babies, the agency argued in court filings in early April. 

Over a year ago, Judge Stephen Ehlke required the Department of Corrections to begin considering women in state prisons for mother-young child programming without delay. 

Lawyers for two formerly incarcerated women argued in February that there had been no meaningful progress in the 11 months since the judge ordered the department to establish the program. They argued that the court should impose sanctions, including a daily fine. 

The department said it wants to have a program that would allow incarcerated women to live with their babies within prison walls, but that it is “currently impossible” to set up such a program in the existing prison system. The DOC cited a lack of sufficient funding from the state Legislature and overcrowding in women’s prisons. 

In its court filings, the agency argued that it has complied with the order by pursuing a program that would involve housing incarcerated women in the community but with some of the same restrictions they would face in prison.

Lawyers for the women from the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Quarles & Brady LLP haven’t filed a reply to the DOC yet. In an interview with the Examiner on April 10, Wisconsin ACLU Legal Director Ryan Cox said the DOC hasn’t complied with the court order. 

The ACLU’s position is that the department intends to “hide behind the Legislature,” Cox said. 

He said the court can fix the problem by fining the government “until it’s clear to the Legislature that they will be spending more money in sanctions than it would cost to just pass a bill to fix the problem overall.”

Cox said that the agency has said the criteria for its potential program is too restrictive for any person in DOC custody to currently qualify. 

In its filings, DOC said it is aware of one woman who is likely to become eligible in May of this year, and that additional women could become eligible in the future. 

In 2025, 14 mothers gave birth while in the custody of the Wisconsin Women’s Correctional System, DOC communications director Beth Hardtke said in an email to the Examiner. 

The case hinges on a 1991 law that requires the department to create a mother-young child care program that allows women in the correctional system to keep physical custody of their children while they participate. A woman may enter the program if the department approves and she is either pregnant or has a child less than 1 year old. 

Nine states have prison nursery programs, and others are considering or developing a program, Stateline reported in January. 

Last year, Ehlke agreed with the plaintiffs that incarcerated women had to be considered. He rejected the Department of Corrections’ argument that the agency’s existing program for mothers on probation, parole or extended supervision was enough to satisfy the law. 

Plaintiffs Alyssa Puphal and Natasha Curtin-Weber were incarcerated women who wanted to participate, according to the initial complaint filed in June 2024. Both women have since been released from prison. 

DOC pursuing ‘creative solution’

No DOC prisons can support housing infants, and the agency’s budget doesn’t have extra money to build a new facility for the program, the DOC argued. 

The agency said it likely could have created a “more robust” mother-young child program for prisoners if it had the necessary funding, and should not be held in contempt because any shortcoming on its part was not intentional. 

The DOC said it “would have been in no one’s best interest for Corrections to have simply started housing infants in prisons that were not equipped to safely house them.” 

The department said it is actively working with Meta House, a nonprofit that helps women recover from addiction. Meta House is one of the facilities that currently houses the DOC’s mother-young child program for women on correctional supervision in the community, the DOC said, and the department is working with Meta House to enable it to house eligible incarcerated people. 

In April 3 court filings, Daniel Cromwell, an assistant administrator for adult prisons for the DOC, said that a draft policy regarding the program is expected to become final and effective within a few weeks. After the policy is final, the final contract with Meta House will go through a DOC process for approval and signature, according to the department. 

ACLU: Too many women left out  

While Cox thinks women should have to meet some requirements to participate, he thinks the agency’s criteria are too restrictive. 

In its court filings, the department said that its plan with Meta House also relies on another state law: Wisconsin statute 301.046. An incarcerated woman would have to meet the criteria for that law and the mother-child law to participate. 

The law allows prisoners who meet certain requirements to be confined where they live or in other places in the community assigned by the department, the DOC said. 

The law requires the department to keep track of these incarcerated people by electronic monitoring or keeping them in supervised places. Laws that apply to incarcerated people in other correctional institutions still apply to them. The DOC can allow them to leave confinement for activities like employment and education, but it’s unclear whether the agency will permit this.

The DOC said that women placed in the community under this statute are legally considered “prisoners,” and that in this way, the department would meet its responsibility to provide a mother-child program to prisoners. 

Cox said that “we’re still trying to understand” the specifics of the criteria for the community confinement law that the DOC laid out in its court filings, but he contends that it is overly restrictive and doesn’t obey the court order. 

If the program was in one of its women’s prisons or a new facility built for that purpose, the agency might not have included this criteria. However, the department argued that it doesn’t have the resources needed for that. 

Cox also said that the department is trying to confuse the question of who is currently a prisoner, and that the goal of the women’s lawsuit and the court’s order is to provide a program to women who are currently incarcerated.

A drafted DOC policy includes a list of requirements incarcerated women would need to meet. Women convicted of offenses such as homicide or a crime against a child, or who are not classified as minimum custody or minimum community custody, would not qualify. 

Other requirements involve each woman’s behavior while in prison and jail and whether she has actively engaged in parenting classes. Child welfare must have approved or coordinated a safe reunification between the mother and the child, and the woman must have a stable housing and child care plan in place, among other requirements. 

Juli Bliefnick of FREE, an advocacy group focused on the justice system’s impact on women, expressed concern about what criteria the DOC will require women to meet. She said that historically, the department’s discretion limits access to programs, rather than expanding access. 

“And the human cost of excluding mothers and babies from this opportunity to form those critical bonds cannot be understated,” Bliefnick said in a message to the Examiner. 

Request for sanctions

Lawyers for the women requested sanctions, including a daily fine that would accumulate over time. They asked for the money from the fine to be set aside for the mother-child program. 

The DOC argued that it isn’t in contempt of the court order, that Wisconsin law does not allow for money from such a fine to be set aside for that purpose and that the plaintiffs haven’t provided necessary evidence for the court to hold a hearing on contempt. 

DOC’s lack of funding

Wisconsin’s budget includes $198,000 per year for the mother-child program. That’s not enough to construct a new building, and the DOC budget lacks money that could be used to do so, the agency argued. 

According to the DOC, the state Legislature has not provided additional funding despite proposals in the 2025-2027 budget process.

Joint Finance Committee co-chairs Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) and Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), as well as several of the other Republican members of the committee, did not respond to requests for comment from the Examiner.

The DOC said it’s still seeking legislative support for more money but has no “imminent” way to get the money needed to construct a new building to house a mother-child program. 

According to the department’s filings, the $198,000 per year is used by its Maternal and Infant Program, the department’s program for women on supervision. In addition, the department traditionally spends another $400,000 to $500,000 per year on that program. 

The Maternal and Infant Program reportedly offers ten single-occupancy rooms available for women on supervision to live with their babies. The department said it contracts with ARC Community Services, Inc. to administer the program.

Women take part in the program for approximately six months at a time, the department said. In 2024, about 25 women were referred for the program, with 11 admitted and six successfully completing the program.

‘A critical step’ 

The advocacy group FREE said it is working with partners like the Ostara Initiative to develop community-based alternatives that meet the requirements of statute while advancing their goal of ending the immediate separation of newborns and incarcerated mothers. 

“This is a critical step toward eliminating jail and prison births in our state, and we invite community members to join us in this work,” FREE said. 

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Elliott Landrum, 46, has spent decades of his life in the Wisconsin prison system. He told the Examiner that he was a handler for Louann, a puppy who went on to graduate and become a hearing assist dog.

“We can still make something out of our lives, and still do something to help someone else, and I think that’s the biggest part about the PAWS program,” Landrum said, referring to Wisconsin’s Prisoners Assisting With Service Dogs (PAWS) program. 

Can Do Canines matches service dogs with clients to help with mobility issues, hearing loss, seizures, autism or type one diabetes, executive director Jeff Johnson told the Examiner last month. He said that the organization partners with five Minnesota prisons and four Wisconsin prisons.

“I also frequently hear from inmates that this is — I don’t know if redemption is the right word, but this is a way to give back that they haven’t really had before in their lives,” Johnson said. “They also get the unconditional love of a dog, and some of them haven’t had unconditional love from anything or anyone before this.”

Last month, Can Do Canines published an article about a woman named Colleen and her hearing assist dog Louann, who were matched together last year.

Colleen said that Louann loves people, the article states, and while Louann is trained to alert Colleen to a wide variety of sounds, her favorite alert is probably the doorbell. The article lists Jackson Correctional Institution, where Landrum participated in the dog training program, among those who made the partnership possible.  

“I’m grateful having her,” Colleen said, according to the article. “Besides having her helping me, she keeps me busy.”

Of the four prisons in Wisconsin that partner with Can Do Canines, Fox Lake, Stanley and Jackson Correctional Institutions are medium-security prisons, while Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility is minimum-security. Earlier this year, Stanley Correctional reached a milestone: a decade of training service dogs.

“For the inmate handlers, it teaches them people skills,” Johnson said. “They’re dealing with dogs — like patience and positive reinforcement and persistence and teamwork, ‘cause they have to work together as a team. And for many of these guys, those aren’t personal strengths of theirs going in.”

Johnson said there is essentially a separate part of each prison for the dog program and handlers. Each dog has two incarcerated handlers, who live together in a cell with the dog.

Lindy Luopa, puppy program manager at Can Do Canines, said over email that dogs are typically raised in a prison program for approximately eight months. At around the three and six-month marks in the prison program, they go out for two-week breaks in host homes, so they can hear the sights and sounds of a home environment and be exposed to a variety of public experiences.

Prison staff screen incarcerated people to decide who gets to be involved, Johnson said. 

Incarcerated handlers work on all of the foundation skills of a service dog, Johnson told the Examiner, including sitting, staying, retrieving items and cleaning up items and putting them in a container. 

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections stated in a 2018 press release that Can Do Canines was decreasing the cost to train service dogs by partnering with the DOC, increasing the number of dogs who could be trained and placed with people. 

“We serve far more people each year because of the prison program and save money because these volunteers provide valuable training that we might otherwise have to hire more staff to provide,” Johnson told the Examiner. 

Johnson said that after the dog’s prison stay, there is much more training involved to become a service dog, but the incarcerated handlers put them on that path. 

(Video uploaded April 13, 2017 to Vimeo by Barbara Wiener.)

Can Do Canines didn’t have a prison program for a period of time due to the COVID pandemic, Johnson said.

“That was very difficult,” Johnson added. “You only have so many volunteers.” 

William Ward, who is incarcerated at Stanley Correctional, said he participated in Stanley’s program from February 2020 to February 2025 and wants to see the dog program in more prisons. He said that while the dog program doesn’t involve a large percentage of prisoners, it provides the participants with something constructive to do at a prison where opportunities are limited. 

Dogs behind bars around the state

Since 2016, nearly 300 dogs have received service dog training at Stanley Correctional, according to a Facebook post from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections last month. 

For about three hours a day, handlers train the dogs on obedience and other skills with the help of Can Do Canines, the department said. More than 180 incarcerated people have volunteered in that role. 

The DOC reported an overall success rate of over 71% for those dogs. The 10-year anniversary was recognized earlier this year during a celebration with Can Do Canines clients, staff, volunteers and other guests, the department said. 

Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility reported that 31 puppies were successfully trained during fiscal year 2025. And in February of last year, six puppies came to Fox Lake Correctional Institution.

“We welcomed Shelby, Smudge, Skyler, Scout, Sailor and Solly to FLCI where they began their training,” Fox Lake reported. 

Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls reported raising 36 puppies in fiscal year 2025. In addition, the prison has worked with 50 3-year-old “finishing” dogs for a three-month program, as of Jackson’s annual report for fiscal year 2025.

Staff and incarcerated people at Jackson celebrated the graduation of their first group of Can Do Canines dogs in 2018, according to a 2018 DOC press release.  

“The participating inmates feel a sense of pride in their accomplishments and are extremely grateful to others for the chance to give back,” Lizzie Tegels, the warden at Jackson at the time, said in the press release. “This program has also had a very positive effect on the climate at our institution.” 

Randy Forsterling, a formerly incarcerated man, connected the Examiner with Landrum and three other men who said they are current or former participants in prison dog training programs with organizations such as Can Do Canines. One of them, Michael Lappen, was released from prison in 2023 and is currently on community supervision.

Like Landrum, Lappen said he was in the dog program at Jackson Correctional Institution. He said he was also in a dog program at Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution, and plans to volunteer with R-PAWS, a wildlife sanctuary program involving volunteer members that cares for injured and orphaned wildlife for release back into the wild.  

Dogs for veterans

Can Do Canines isn’t the only group working with incarcerated people to train dogs behind bars. In 2022, WISN 12 News reported on incarcerated people volunteering with the Journey Together Service Dog program at Oshkosh Correctional Institution.

Shaun Lynch told the Examiner he was in Oshkosh Correctional’s Journey Together program from January 2017 until April 2019. 

“When I got to Oshkosh in 2016 I hadn’t seen a dog in nearly 20 years,” Lynch said in a message to the Examiner over the messaging app GettingOut. 

Lynch has been in the state prison system since 1998 and has a life sentence, according to online Department of Corrections records. He said that he is going to school for his associate degree in small business entrepreneurship so that he can start his own program if he ever gets out of prison. 

According to Lynch, he helped start a program called Paws for Patriots at Redgranite Correctional Institution, where he has been incarcerated since 2019. He said he started in March 2022 and is still in the program.

According to its most recent available report, Redgranite Correctional partners with Patriot K9’s, an organization that aims to help veterans “win the war against suicide, depression and anxiety” through service dogs and connections to needed resources. 

Patriot K9’s website says that the dog training programs provide incarcerated people with employable skills, such as social skills and problem solving, and help make the transition to life outside prison go more smoothly. 

“I hope I am able to inspire others to look beyond themselves and do something to give back, whether it’s training dogs or just giving back in some way that can help make a difference in someone’s life,” Lynch said. “I also hope that it shows people that no matter what you’ve done in your life you can change for the better and make a difference in someone’s life.”

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