To: Governor Tony Evers
PETITION FOR HUMANE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS AT WAUPUN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION (WCI)
Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.
We, the undersigned, are very disturbed by the recent allegations of abuse of prisoners in the segregation unit at Waupun Correctional Institution as revealed by the Center for Investigative Journalism on July 20 – 22, 2014
1) We call for an independent investigation of the 40 plus abuse allegations .
2) Joseph Beahm and other accused guards must be removed from the seg unit for the duration of the investigation.
We are also aware that in much of the nation, prisons have become the America’s defacto mental health hospitals but they are given no support or funds for humane effective care of the mentally ill or other difficult prisoners. We believe that prison IS the punishment and that inhumane conditions have no place in Wisconsin. Therefore:
3) We demand that mental health units a like those that were mandated by the courts and effectively used in Taychedah Correctional Institution(TCI) , the women’s prison in Fond du Lac, be installed at WCI and other men’s prisons.
4) Training of all WCI guards to deal with difficult prisoners is of paramount importance.
5) Rotation of guards from Segregation to general population is used in federal prisons and is an important tool for keeping staff professional and positive. No new guards should ever be placed in segregation as her/her first term of duty. Also, There needs to be an effective and safe mechanism for staff to complain about other staff, conditions or rules.
6) Wisconsin’s Administrative confinement (AC)and general segregation rules need to be overhauled with rehabilitation and compassion in mind. The present AC rules, changed in the mid 90’s, have been used to keep people in various levels of isolated confinement for years and even decades. The United Nations has said that solitary for more than fifteen days can amount to torture.
1) We call for an independent investigation of the 40 plus abuse allegations .
2) Joseph Beahm and other accused guards must be removed from the seg unit for the duration of the investigation.
We are also aware that in much of the nation, prisons have become the America’s defacto mental health hospitals but they are given no support or funds for humane effective care of the mentally ill or other difficult prisoners. We believe that prison IS the punishment and that inhumane conditions have no place in Wisconsin. Therefore:
3) We demand that mental health units a like those that were mandated by the courts and effectively used in Taychedah Correctional Institution(TCI) , the women’s prison in Fond du Lac, be installed at WCI and other men’s prisons.
4) Training of all WCI guards to deal with difficult prisoners is of paramount importance.
5) Rotation of guards from Segregation to general population is used in federal prisons and is an important tool for keeping staff professional and positive. No new guards should ever be placed in segregation as her/her first term of duty. Also, There needs to be an effective and safe mechanism for staff to complain about other staff, conditions or rules.
6) Wisconsin’s Administrative confinement (AC)and general segregation rules need to be overhauled with rehabilitation and compassion in mind. The present AC rules, changed in the mid 90’s, have been used to keep people in various levels of isolated confinement for years and even decades. The United Nations has said that solitary for more than fifteen days can amount to torture.
Why is this important?
I have been doing prisoner advocacy for 15 years and have been working on this specific issue for over a year and a half and found noone listening or caring. The Center for Investigative Journalism (www.wisconsinwatch.org) has done series on the abuse and now we must demand an independent investigation. Both staff and prisoners are harmed in this situation and it is our responsibility to help.