- Felony charge reduced to 30-day misdemeanor jail term
- Two preventable deaths from dehydration and undocumented medical emergencies
- Six staff members still face disciplinary proceedings
- Seven inmate fatalities recorded since 2023 at 170-year-old facility
The former warden of Wisconsin's oldest maximum-security prison accepted a plea deal Monday that reduces criminal charges connected to two inmate deaths. Court documents reveal Cameron Williams succumbed to a stroke after staff ignored multiple collapse incidents, while Donald Maier died from dehydration during a water shut-off dispute.
Prosecutors emphasized systemic failures at Waupun Correctional Institution, where seven fatalities have been recorded since 2023. Investigators found staff routinely ignored medical emergencies and medication protocols. This case mirrors recent controversies at Illinois' Stateville Prison, where aging infrastructure similarly hampered emergency response capabilities.
Corrections experts identify three critical vulnerabilities: understaffed facilities averaging 30% vacancy rates, outdated policy communication methods, and inadequate mental health training. Emailing procedures to overworked guards guarantees policy failures,notes criminal justice reform advocate Dr. Lena Torres. This tragedy exemplifies why 68% of century-old prisons face federal investigations.
Newly revealed documents show Maier went 96 hours without food before his death, while Williams crawled unsupervised for two days post-collapse. The plea agreement comes as Wisconsin faces a class-action lawsuit alleging constitutional violations, with plaintiffs citing 14 documented sanitation violations in 2024 alone.
With 1,700 inmates still housed at the crisis-plagued facility, advocates criticize Governor Evers' rejection of closure proposals. Department of Corrections data shows Wisconsin's prison population has grown 12% since 2020 despite statewide crime rate decreases, intensifying calls for sentencing reform.
