Fifth suicide death reported at Waupun prison

A fifth death of a person serving time at the Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) was reported Monday. Christopher McDonald, 57, was found dead in what authorities say appears to be a suicide. McDonald’s death remains under investigation by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department, according to the Department of Corrections (DOC). 

On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said in a statement that initial investigation suggests that, “at the time of discovery, staff responded rapidly and appropriately, providing medical aid in an effort to save the inmate’s life.” 

McDonald had been sentenced in 1993 in Waukesha County for first-degree intentional homicide, being party to first-degree intentional homicide, and being party to a robbery as a habitual offender, according to online court records. With a sentence that totaled  over 2,000 years for those counts, McDonald was unlikely to ever leave prison. 

McDonald’s death is the most recent in a string  – attributed to suicide and negligent care by prison staff – that began in June 2023 with the death of Dean Hoffmann. The 60-year-old had been transferred from general population to the prison’s restrictive housing unit, more commonly known as solitary confinement. During a facility-wide lockdown of recreation, educational programming, and family visitation, staff failed to provide Hoffmann with his prescribed medications. Hoffmann’s family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit, held protests, and called for  an end to lockdowns at Waupun and other DOC facilities. The DOC has since rolled back some prison restrictions. 

In early October, Tyshun Lemons overdosed in general population on a substance containing fentanyl. Later that same month, Cameron Williams died of a stroke at WCI. Staff at the prison  failed to report previous episodes when Williams collapsed and experienced labored breathing to supervisors or take other action.

In February of this year, Donald Maier was found dead in his cell due to dehydration and malnutrition after being placed in the restrictive housing unit, where water to his cell had been shut off. 

Just days after resigning in early June, the prison’s warden Randall Hepp and seven of his staff were charged for abuse of prison residents, and misconduct in public office. While Schmidt, the sheriff, said at the time of their arrests that the prison staffers’ conduct disturbed him, he declined to blame the lockdowns for the rash of deaths. Allegations of smuggling at the prison are also under investigation

Outside of its adult facilities, the DOC has also struggled with fallout after a staff member died following an incident involving a juvenile at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys. Two teens, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, have been charged in connection to a fight in late June, which led to the death of 49-year-old staff member Corey Proulx. A criminal complaint alleges that one of the teens punched Proulx, who fell and hit his head on the concrete pavement. 

Lincoln Hills remains under a court-appointed monitor after a $25 million settlement in connection with allegations of abuse of juveniles in custody.  and court-appointed monitoring period, which continues today. Efforts to close the troubled facility have been repeatedly delayed  unsuccessful, with the legislature holding in limbo construction of a new facility near Milwaukee, where many of the youth are from.