Warden, Eight Staff Charged in Inmate Deaths at Waupun Prison

The warden and eight other employees of Waupun Correctional Institution were criminally charged Wednesday in connection to the deaths of two inmates at the facility.

One of the two men, Donald Maier, 62, died of dehydration and malnutrition after water was repeatedly turned off in his cell and staff allegedly failed to provide meals. The second, Cameron Williams, 24, died of a stroke after prison staff allegedly repeatedly ignored signs of medical distress, ultimately not checking on him until he had been dead in his cell for 12 hours.

“It infuriated me seeing the things that were happening in that prison,” Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt told reporters at a press conference announcing the charges Wednesday.

Schmidt said the charges come after a lengthy investigation into the death of four inmates at Waupun since June 2023.

The sheriff said investigators found no probable cause for criminal charges in two of those deaths, one a man who died by suicide, the second from a fentanyl overdose.

But in the other two cases, the sheriff’s department recommended charges of misconduct in public office and abuse of residents of a penal institution.

“These people were not cared for,” Schmidt said of the inmates who died. “And we are going to hold those responsible accountable.”

He said charges were recommended against Warden Randall Hepp, who announced he was stepping down this month. Charges were also recommended against two prison nurses and six correctional officers who were in charge of the men’s care. He said they were all asked to turn themselves in to the sheriff’s department Wednesday morning and would be charged Wednesday afternoon.

Schmidt had wider criticism of the facility and of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. He said understaffing, a lack of training and overcrowded, outdated facilities are contributing to inadequate care of people housed at the facilities.

“My recommendation to the state of Wisconsin is to seriously consider renovating the housing units or closing and replacing Waupun Correctional and Green Bay Correctional,” he told reporters.

He said he brought his complaints to former DOC Secretary Kevin Carr, who stepped down three days after that conversation.

State and federal authorities began an investigation into the fatalities, with nearly a dozen prison employees placed on leave after sweeps of the prison found illegal drugs and cell phones inside the facility.

In March, a spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers said the governor and the Department of Corrections asked the federal Department of Justice to investigate a possible conspiracy to bring contraband into the maximum security facility, which housed about 965 inmates as of last year.

Schmidt said his investigators are cooperating with that investigation, but said federal authorities are not looking into the deaths.

At the same time, the prison has been on lockdown during much of the last year because of a chronic shortage of guards, leading to a federal lawsuit.

The sheriff said the lockdowns did not contribute to the deaths.

“I do not believe the lockdowns had anything to do with any of these deaths — any narrative out there that the lockdowns are the cause of these deaths are bogus,” Schmidt said.

Marianne Oleson, a criminal justice reform activist with Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing of Wisconsin, said early Wednesday that the advocacy organization was aware that the warden had been taken into custody because of online jail records.

Although she said she couldn’t yet comment on specifics, Oleson said smuggling is widespread in Wisconsin prisons.

“We saw that it wasn’t the other individuals that were incarcerated with us that were bringing in the contraband — it just wasn’t,” said Oleson, who was incarcerated previously at Wisconsin’s Taycheedah prison. “It was the staff, and so it’s a reality we recognize.”

Evers calls on Dodge County Sheriff’s Office to continue investigation

During the press conference, Evers released a statement calling on the sheriff’s office to wait to close its investigation while the corrections department’s internal investigation and a federal investigation were ongoing.

“I am directing the DOC to continue their ongoing, internal investigations through to completion, notwithstanding the Dodge County Sheriff indicating his investigation is completed based on charges filed in Dodge County today,” he said in a statement. “I am further directing the department to provide the results of its investigations to the Dodge County Sherriff’s Office for further investigation and potential charges, as is appropriate.”

Schmidt told reporters the sheriff’s office investigation is closed, but could be reopened if more information comes to light. He also said his department’s investigation is separate from the DOC and federal inquiries.

“We have completed our investigation,” he said. “It’s now their turn to do their own internal investigations. Those are not criminal investigations.”

In a statement, DOC Secretary ​Jared Hoy said his department was in contact with the sheriff’s office and “cooperated fully” with the investigation.

“At this time, all nine of these individuals against whom criminal charges have now been filed are either no longer employed at the department or are on unpaid administrative leave,” he said. “Prior to these charges, warden excluded, all of these individuals were either under ongoing DOC internal investigation or had been placed on administrative leave or terminated.”

Editor’s note: This story will be updated.

Wisconsin warden, additional staff, charged in inmate deaths at Waupun prisons was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.