Abuse in Wisconsin Prisons

Originally built in 1851, just three years after Wisconsin became a state, Waupun Correctional Institution is the state’s oldest prison. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More recently, though, the maximum security facility garnered another superlative of which it may be less proud: Waupun has more complaints about correctional guard abuse of inmates than any other. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has uncovered over 40 allegations of physical and psychological abuse of inmates assigned to Waupun’s solitary confinement unit. Many of the complaints involve a handful of the same officers, and alleged treatment that borders on torture. The Center for Investigative Journalism’s Bill Lueders joined the Buzz on July 28, 2014 with the story.