A Wisconsin prison warden was jailed Wednesday just hours before a scheduled news conference where officials planned to discuss the findings of investigations into multiple deaths at his facility. Online jail records indicate that Waupun Correctional Institution Warden Randall Hepp was booked into the Dodge County Jail around 8:20am. The records didn't offer further details on why he was jailed or what charges he might face. Online court records didn't show any charges filed against him as of mid-morning Wednesday. But state Sen. Van Wanggaard told the AP that the warden and numerous other people will be charged with crimes related to their work at the prison.
Wanggaard said he was briefed on the developments Tuesday by the head of the state Department of Corrections. Wanggaard is chairman of the state Senate committee that oversees prisons. He said he didn't have details on how many people would be charged, or what the charges would be, other than that at least some would be felony charges. Hepp announced on May 28 that he planned to retire at the end of June.
- Four inmates have died at Waupun since June 2023, when Dean Hoffman killed himself in solitary confinement. Hoffman's daughter filed a federal lawsuit in February alleging that prison officials failed to provide her father with adequate mental health care and medications.
- The state Department of Corrections imposed a lockdown at Waupun and two other prisons last year due to a shortage of guards. Waupun inmates filed a federal lawsuit in October alleging the conditions amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. That lawsuit is still pending. Movement restrictions have eased at Waupun but as of the department's latest update in April, in-person visitation had not resumed and recreation time was still limited.
- Waupun's problems don't end there. Gov. Tony Evers' office said in March that federal investigators were looking into a suspected smuggling ring involving prison employees.
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