Youth Justice Milwaukee: Lincoln Hills Continued Use of Pepper Spray, Suicide Risk Shows Youth Prison Model is Broken
"We know harm is being done to children at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake."
Lincoln Hills School and Copper Lake School. Photo from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Milwaukee, WI – In response to the news that the use of pepper spray on young people and continued high risk of suicide by the youth at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake is still common and that Attorney General Kaul will not open a new investigation into the matter, Youth Justice Milwaukee co-founder Sharlen Moore released the following statement:
“We know harm is being done to children at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake. The stories that came out of the recent investigation into the youth prison were horrific and heartbreaking. As we get closer to closing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, we cannot make the same mistakes of locking our young people away. The youth prison model is unfixable and we owe it to our youth to invest in a strong, trauma-informed continuum of care and say no to construction of new, smaller youth prisons.”
Youth Justice Milwaukee is a broad-based campaign advocating for community-based, family-centered, restorative programs as an alternative to locking up children in Wisconsin’s youth prisons. Youth Justice Milwaukee represents a coalition of persons who were incarcerated as youth, families of youth who are or were incarcerated, service providers, and local and national youth justice advocates.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Facilities
- MKE County: Tight Budget Forces Difficult Vote on Housing, Juvenile Justice - Graham Kilmer - Nov 1st, 2024
- Letters from Evers, Republicans Show Clash on Juvenile Corrections - Andrew Kennard - Aug 17th, 2024
- Following Counselor Death, Staff, Family Plead for Help At Lincoln Hills - Andrew Kennard - Aug 16th, 2024
- Lawmakers Grill Wisconsin Prison Officials Over Safety, Employee Death at Youth Facility - Sarah Lehr - Aug 7th, 2024
- Future of Lincoln Hills Remains In Limbo - Isiah Holmes - Apr 12th, 2024
- MKE County: County Youth In State Prisons Declining Again - Graham Kilmer - Jan 15th, 2024
- Legislative Committee Okays $6 Million for 2nd Juvenile Facility - Devin Blake - Oct 1st, 2023
- Some Progress, Still Problems at Lincoln Hills - Isiah Holmes - Jul 9th, 2023
- Plats and Parcels: Republicans Approve Gov. Evers’ Allocation of $32.6 Million More To Build Milwaukee Youth Prison - Jeramey Jannene - Jun 4th, 2023
- Milwaukee Youth Prison Costs Grow 71% - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 1st, 2023
Read more about Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Facilities here
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Youth Justice Milwaukee
Polling Shows: Majority of Wisconsinites Support Youth Justice Reform
Jun 3rd, 2019 by Youth Justice MilwaukeeSignals Strong Bipartisan Support for Community-Based Alternatives to Incarceration to Rehabilitate Youth
Youth Justice Milwaukee: Wisconsin Must Include Community Input for Any Youth Transfers
May 10th, 2019 by Youth Justice Milwaukee"YJM agrees with President Hamilton that there are already enough correctional settings on the north side of Milwaukee."
