MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WRN) — Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature propose changes to improve conditions at prisons.
Officials say the purpose of this bill package is to ensure there are humane conditions for the people who are incarcerated, along with increased oversight and transparency.
There are 15 bills in the “conditions of confinement” package.
The legislation comes amid lockdowns at three Wisconsin prisons, and at least three recent inmate deaths at Waupun.
“This is torture. The simplest solution to these terrible conditions and staffing shortages, is to stop incarcerating so many people,” said Jon McCray Jones with the ACLU Wisconsin. “Especially from Indigenous, Black and brown communities.”
Waupun Correctional Institution is facing a federal lawsuit. Inmates cite inhumane conditions during a lockdown that began in March as a result of a staffing shortage.
Incarcerated individuals in Green Bay and Chippewa Fall have also been under lockdown for months. Hundreds of inmates stay confined to cells for nearly 24 hours with limited resources.
