Corrections staff and family members testify about problems in Wisconsin juvenile corrections

At a state Senate informational hearing Tuesday, the niece of youth counselor Corey Proulx, who died after an assault in late June, called for change at the Lincoln Hills School correctional facility where Proulx had worked. 

“He had the passion and the motivation to help those around him in any way that he could… You, the people responsible for not only his safety but everyone inside of those walls, have failed him,” said Elizabeth Leander, Proulx’s niece. “You have failed all of us.”  

On June 26, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections announced the death of Proulx, 49, in an assault at Lincoln Hills School. Wisconsin Department of Corrections administrators, staff and others testified at the Tuesday hearing of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. 

“To the people in charge—I hope that the things you hear today open your eyes and your ears,” Leander said. “When Corey arrived at the hospital, they could not identify him. His wounds were so severe that he was a John Doe… his eyes were swollen the size of golf balls…I explain this for two reasons. First, because if it was your dad or your son, then you can picture these injuries… and second, so you can better understand just what this inmate was capable of doing.”

The hearing Tuesday was held in a high school auditorium in Merrill, 11 miles south of the Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake facilities.

Lawmakers heard testimony about safety issues and suggestions for improvement. 

“I don’t think these are legislative changes,” Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) told the Wisconsin Examiner in regards to the testimony she heard at the hearing. She cited a court-ordered consent decree that mandates dozens of changes at Lincoln Hills and its counterpart facility for girls, Copper Lake. “We can’t change the consent decree legislatively,” she said. “These are administrative changes and policy changes that have to be made internally at DOC, and that’s under the governor’s purview.”

The hearing followed an informational hearing in July of the Assembly Committee on Corrections, which included testimony about alleged sexual assaults of staff and other concerns.

“From speaking to many staff from multiple facilities, I have learned of many incidents that have happened and have been hidden from the media,” Leander said. “A female from Waupun [Correctional Institution] shared a story with me of how she had to serve an inmate with a form for them to sign. When entering this inmate’s cell, he was masturbating. When she went to pick the paper up, he ejaculated all over her face. She then went and wrote him up again. It was dismissed. She was told to suck it up because that is a part of this job.”

A recording of the full hearing — over seven hours — is available on Wisconsin Eye.