Charges against warden and guards at Wisconsin’s Shawshank-like prison renew calls to close it
Associated PressMADISON, Wis. — With a “Shawshank Redemption”-style stone exterior and high castle-like guard towers, Wisconsin’s oldest prison, built in the 1850s, has long been a target for closure amid concerns about deterioration, extended lockdowns and staffing shortfalls. “That place is a disaster,” said Lonnie Story, an attorney for families of three people who died in the prison within the past year, as well as inmates who filed a class-action lawsuit. “It really made me kind of feel sick yesterday when I saw the complaint,” said Mark Born, a former county jail officer who now serves as co-chair of the state Legislature’s budget committee. Inmates also have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that they can’t access health care, with guards telling them their illnesses are “all in your head” and they should “pray” for cures. “We are operating the oldest prison in the state of Wisconsin in a dangerous and reckless manner,” Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said Wednesday when he announced the charges against the warden and eight others.
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