Wisconsin warden, 8 others, charged in 2 inmate deaths at Waupun prison (2024)

JUNEAU — The warden of Waupun Correctional Institution and eight of his staff members were charged Wednesday in connection with the deaths of two inmates at the facility since late October, including one whose body wasn’t found for at least 12 hours.

Warden Randall Hepp was charged with misconduct in public office while the eight others faced charges of misconduct or abusing inmates. All were released on signature bonds and ordered to have no contact with any of the victims’ families.

In announcing the charges at a news conference Wednesday, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt sharply criticized the state Department of Corrections for failing to keep its facilities, inmates and staff safe and called on the governor and Legislature to shut down the 151-year-old prison and another troubled institution at Green Bay, the oldest and second-oldest prisons in the state, respectively.

“These investigations have shown a blatant disregard for the safety of human beings, and arrests must be made and have been made,” Schmidt said. “There must be accountability for the actions and inactions of state employees.”

In addition to Hepp, those charged Wednesday and the charges they face are: Jeramie Chalker, 41, misconduct in office; Brandon J. Fisher, 29, abusing an inmate; Alexander J. Hollfelder, 31, abusing an inmate; Jessica A. Hosfelt, 47, abusing an inmate; Sarah A. Ransbottom, 35, misconduct in office; Jamall R. Russell, 39, abusing an inmate and misconduct in office; Tanner J. Leopold, 27, abusing an inmate; and Gwendolyn Vick (who now goes by Peachey), 50, abusing an inmate.

All the charges are Class I felonies, punishable by up to three and a half years of combined prison and extended supervision and a $10,000 fine.

Four inmates in all have died in the past 12 months.

Three of the four deaths are subject to federal lawsuits. The state DOC is also investigating the prison’s operations, and the governor last year asked the U.S. Department of Justice to look into contraband smuggling at the facility.

While the DOC said it has cooperated with the county’s criminal inquiry, Gov. Tony Evers urged the sheriff’s office to keep its investigation open until the other investigations are concluded.

“Each and every person who’s failed to do their job to the high level that we expect or treat people in our care with the dignity, humanity, and respect they deserve should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law — it’s that simple,” Evers said in a statement.

“There must be accountability and justice. And I believe accountability and justice insist that both internal and law enforcement investigations must continue until they have been exhaustively and thoroughly completed.”

The news also comes as the DOC has moved closer to lifting all the restrictions on inmate movement and visitation at the prison, first instituted March 29, 2023.

Since then, four inmates have died at the prison: Dean Hoffman, 60, killed himself in solitary confinement on June 29; Tyshun Lemons, 30, died of a fentanyl overdose and stroke on Oct. 2; Cameron Williams, 24, died of a fentanyl overdose and stroke on Oct. 30; and Donald Maier, 62 died on Feb. 22. Maier’s cause and manner of death has not yet been announced.

All of the charges announced Wednesday relate to the deaths of Williams and Maier, Schmidt said.

Williams’ death wasn’t discovered until at least 12 hours after he died in his cell, Schmidt said. Security video from inside the prison shows Williams first attempted to raise staff’s attention by loudly banging on his cell door several times, but staff took no action, Schmidt said. He later didn’t respond to several attempts from staff to deliver his regular medication and no staff looked into his cell to check if he was OK, Schmidt said.

An autopsy found Williams died from a stroke due to venous thrombosis on Oct. 29, the day before he was found. One of the criminal complaints details a conflict among staffers about whether to more closely examine Williams in his cell.

A psychologist, Dr. Lauren Blanchette, was to have had a follow-up with Williams that day, but when she went to his cell she could only see his feet and he did not respond to knocking. She summoned help.

“Rounds were sporadically performed throughout the evening and early morning hours of Oct. 29, 2023 and Oct. 30, 2023,” the complaint states. “All incident reports state that (Williams) was in the same position as described by Dr. Blanchette, but all correctional officers reported that they observed the rise and fall of (Williams’) chest.”

Inmate denied water, food

Another group of charges involves the death of Maier, who was found in his cell in February amid a strong odor of bodily fluids, garbage and clutter with no running water, Schmidt said. While no time of death could be determined, he had been dead for a “significant amount of time” before it was reported, Schmidt said.

“It gets worse,” a clearly angry Schmidt said.

According to the criminal complaint, staff requested that Maier’s water be turned off on Feb. 16 after he began flooding his cell. It’s not clear if he was ever provided water, although the complaint says it was turned on periodically although he was never notified of that fact. At one point that day he could be seen “drinking from the toilet, acting like he is swimming in his cell, speaking incoherently, and making repeated statements about wanting water.”

The next day he asked for water four times.

Prison staff also failed to feed Maier nine of 12 meals over a four-day period, and staff falsely reported hourly check-ins with inmates were completed when they weren’t, and supervisors were aware of the practice, Schmidt said.

Some prison officers did attempt to notify their supervisors, Schmidt said, “however supervisors made no attempts to further investigate the condition of the defendant or his wellbeing.”

Fond du Lac County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Adam Covach in an autopsy found the victim had likely died of dehydration and malnutrition, but his heart, kidney and mental health also likely played a role, the complaint notes.

Hepp and the others each appeared Wednesday in Dodge County Circuit Court, where they were released on a $1,000 signature bond and ordered not to have any contact with the victims’ families nor discuss the case with anyone outside of their family, attorneys or counselors. All are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on July 11.

A few of the defendants’ attorneys questioned the order not to discuss the case. Assistant District Attorney Shawn Woller said a lot of the witnesses in the case are still employed at the prison and that discussing it with them could affect operations at the facility.

Dodge County Court Commissioner Steven Seim said a judge may review the restrictions in the future.

Probes, problems continue

State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, applauded Schmidt’s effort to hold Hepp and prison personnel “accountable for the disastrous conditions at his prison.”

“Waupun has seen preventable prison deaths, rampant drug and contraband dealing, and a year-long lockdown,” Wanggaard said in a statement. “The warden may have been arrested, but the buck doesn’t stop there.”

In a statement Wednesday, Jared Hoy, head of the state Department of Corrections, said more than 20 people remain under internal investigation, at least eight are on administrative leave and nine others were fired or have retired since the Department of Corrections began its probe a year ago.

Other than Hepp, Hoy said, all of those charged on Wednesday were among those already under the DOC’s internal investigation, had been placed on leave or been fired.

Although Hoy said the department has been working closely with Dodge County in its investigation, the DOC only learned of the charges on Monday. More people are being put on leave as the state’s investigation continues, meaning it’s possible others could be deemed relevant to the sheriff’s department investigation, Hoy said.

State Reps. Michael Schraa, chair of the Assembly corrections committee, and Mark Born, co-chair of the state’s budget committee, said in a joint statement the findings of Schmidt’s investigation “are incredibly troubling” and highlight a “lack of leadership” from Evers and the state DOC.

“These deaths — and the issues that have caused an ongoing federal investigation into WCI — call for better accountability in our state prison system, similar to the statutorily required oversight that occurs in our county jails,” the lawmakers said. “Our offices will spend the coming days and months working with stakeholders to explore options for creating more transparency and accountability in our state correctional facilities.”

Republican lawmakers have also renewed their call for Evers to close the state’s aging prisons in Waupun and Green Bay.

“Tony Evers can’t keep his head in the sand anymore,” Wanggaard said. “Waupun and Green Bay Correctional need to be replaced.”

Arrest follows retirement

The charges also come as the DOC has moved closer to lifting all the restrictions on inmate movement and visitation at the prison, first instituted March 29, 2023.

While nearly all of the lockdown restrictions at Waupun have been lifted, two restrictions remain.

Inmates are still restricted to two 90- to 120-minute recreational periods each week, and more time is offered when possible, Department of Corrections spokesperson Beth Hardtke told the Wisconsin State Journal. They are also still barred from in-person visitation, although a new program allows inmates to use electronic tablets for free to talk with friends and family. Previously, inmates had to wait in line to use a shared phone in their housing units, she said.

Green Bay Correctional Institution, the state’s second-oldest prison, has also been going through lockdown conditions since June last year, but the 125-year-old facility is not involved in Schmidt’s investigation and has only one lockdown-related restriction remaining.

The department has blamed high staff vacancy rates among guards and sergeants for the lockdowns. DOC data shows that number has declined to 50.9% from 54.6% in November when Evers and Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr announced their plan.

State Journal reporters Mitchell Schmidt and Ed Treleven, Beaver Dam Daily Citizen reporter Terri Pederson, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.