Explained: Wisconsin’s youth prison scandal

MADISON - Our new colleagues at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have written story after story in recent months about a developing youth prison scandal and broader questions about state oversight of prison conditions. Below is a Q&A-style guide to their groundbreaking work, a guide we produced in collaboration with Journal Sentinel reporters Patrick Marley and Jason Stein.

Where did this all start?

About 50 state agents and attorneys raided the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls in December as part of a massive criminal investigation. The prison, about 30 miles north of Wausau in Lincoln County, is home to more than 200 youths from across the state. Most are racial minorities convicted of serious crimes in southeastern Wisconsin cities such as Milwaukee and Racine.

What are the broad allegations being investigated?

A Lincoln County judge said in October that there was "reason to believe" a sweeping series of crimes had been committed: sexual assault, physical child abuse, intimidation of victims and witnesses, child neglect, abuse of prisoners, strangulation and suffocation, use of pepper spray to cause bodily harm or discomfort, and tampering with public records.

Has anyone been charged with a crime?

No. Authorities say the investigation is ongoing and may continue for another year.

What has been the fallout so far?

Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Wall, the state’s top prison administrator, resigned in February after weeks of public scrutiny. Jon Litscher, a former corrections secretary under GOP Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum, has been tapped to replace him.

Two other high-ranking prison officials also abruptly stepped down in December as the criminal investigation widened. Paul Westerhaus was Wall’s top juvenile corrections administrator and John Ourada was superintendent of the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools.

At least 39 state prison workers have been put on paid leave since late 2014. Eight have been fired; a dozen have resigned or retired, but most others have returned to work, according to corrections officials.

On a more global scale, the scandal has become a frequent lightning rod for criticism of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration, prison staffing levels and controversial changes to collective bargaining laws in 2011. Some government officials are now pushing to transfer incarcerated youths from state institutions to locally-run facilities.

Are the problems isolated or systemic?

That’s one of the biggest questions surrounding the scandal. Walker’s administration initially insisted the issues stemmed from outdated policies and a few, low-ranking bad apples which have since been addressed. Others, including Democratic lawmakers and rank-and-file prison workers, worry the facility is indicative of staffing shortages and escalating violence at adult institutions as well.

Do we know of any specific incidents being examined?

Yes. The investigation intensified shortly after a Nov. 29 incident in which staff member Jeffrey Butler was accused of pushing a teenage resident into a room and slamming a metal door on his foot, mangling his toes. Butler was put on paid leave and later quit.

Troy Bauch, Butler's union representative, said the incident came at the end of a chaotic shift in which management repeatedly declined to address concerns raised by staff about disruptions in a unit overseen by Butler.

"It's unfortunate, but it was predictable and it was avoidable," Bauch said of the incident.

Any other recent incidents we know about?

• A staff member was accused of pepper-spraying two juvenile inmates who were complying with orders.
• A staff member allegedly threw a book at another staff member that bruised her leg.
• Staff member Travis Taves was fired for his involvement in an incident in which a resident's arm was fractured. In another case, a resident alleged Taves hit him multiple times in the head — a claim Taves has denied.
• A team of Milwaukee officials say they witnessed or received reports from youths about staff members directing racial slurs at inmates; a lack of therapy provided to at least one youth who repeatedly requested it; overuse of solitary confinement, particularly for youths with mental health issues; lack of timely medical attention; and inappropriate use of restraints.
• In March, a woman who was visiting her granddaughter at the prison described witnessing staff members wait at least five minutes before assisting a girl who could be heard gagging and choking as she apparently tried to commit suicide.
• Two teenage girls hanged themselves to the point of losing consciousness.

How has Gov. Scott Walker responded?

After a year of warnings about conditions at the prison, Walker's administration pointed to actions being taken to address safety concerns and alleged crimes, including a January 2015 referral of some allegations against staff to law enforcement.

Other changes announced in recent months have included new leadership at Lincoln Hills, broad reviews of staff use of force against juvenile inmates, more training and rules for staff, as well as additional video and body cameras for workers and the prison itself.

In May, seeking to stymie staffing shortages at the youth prison and elsewhere, Litscher also rolled out a $10 million-a-year plan to increase wages by 80 cents an hour for thousands of workers, with some of them temporarily receiving more than that.

Everyone satisfied with those changes?

No. Democrats and officials with the prison workers' union have argued that staffing shortages at state prisons such as Lincoln Hills are contributing to safety problems at the facilities. In January, for example, a 17-year-old boy was arrested after twice punching a staff member. The worker didn't seek medical attention until the next morning because they were "short-staffed" that night, according to dispatch records.

Since 2010, the number of juvenile offenders at the prison has risen by 69 percent while staffing has risen by only 44 percent, according to figures from the Legislature's budget office and the state Department of Corrections. That change flowed out of decisions to consolidate nearly all the inmates tried as juveniles and held by the state of Wisconsin into a single campus.

Should the prison be shut down?

A national group launched its effort in March to overhaul the nation's juvenile justice system by calling for the prison’s closure and 79 other large or aging juvenile prisons around the country. In Wisconsin, the cost of most juvenile inmates held in state facilities is paid by taxpayers in the counties that referred the youths.

Local political and judicial leaders in Milwaukee County have expressed an interest in pulling youths from the prison, which could effectively undermine its ability to remain open. However, those same officials have acknowledged they do not have the resources to provide alternatives and have expressed fears that state lawmakers will simply send young offenders back home. Milwaukee County teens are still being sentenced to the prison at roughly the same rate as before allegations of assault, abuse and intimidation became public, a judge said in April.

Racine County officials pulled all their youth offenders from the prison in 2012 over the mishandling of a sexual assault. In short, prison staff failed to notify law enforcement, child protective services and local authorities of the incident, and Racine County officials were furious when they heard about it from tipsters instead. For a time, Racine County resumed sending offenders to the prison, but has since pulled out all the youths under its jurisdiction.

Did Racine County contact Walker's administration?

Yes. Records show clearly that despite Walker's repeated statements that he was surprised by more recent allegations of abuse at the prison, his office and his administration were told of the Racine County incident in 2012. A judge wrote Walker a memo saying, "this sordid tale is absolutely inexcusable." However, a Walker spokeswoman said he wasn't shown the letter because it involved an "isolated youth-on-youth incident." Corrections officials were left to respond.

Did the state inform parents at least?

Its track record isn't good. In repeated cases stretching back at least four years, state officials now admit they don't know whether anyone bothered telling parents and local officials about assaults on teenagers — a systemic failure that Walker's administration initially blamed on front-line staff alone.

The pattern of not sharing glaring problems continued for years, according to leaders in two counties, state officials, former prison staff and a parent of a youth offender. Meaningful change came only after the public learned late last year of the criminal investigation. In January, new leadership quietly put in place a stronger reporting policy for assaults and other incidents at the prisons.

"There were so many sexual assaults up there that I don't recall them all," said Timothy Johnson, a counselor who resigned amid an investigation into youths injured during incidents involving Johnson. "It happened so frequently in Douglas Cottage (for inmates) that they called them the Douglas Diddlers."

What else have workers said? 

Current and former staff members at the prison and the Department of Corrections have said there was a culture of indifference at the facility where supervisors did not address problems. Bauch, the union official, shared a series of emails going back to February 2015 that he had sent to corrections officials detailing what he said were unsafe conditions and requesting that youth residents be referred to the Lincoln County sheriff for possible assault charges.

Who started the investigation?

Wall, the state's former top prison administrator, and other Department of Corrections officials repeatedly took credit for starting an internal investigation in late 2014 and involving the state Department of Justice in January 2015. However, state authorities later acknowledged the probe began after Milwaukee County officials began raising questions.

Wall and his closest aides actually visited the prison with the local sheriff in August 2015 — giving him a chance to personally assess allegations of abuse and other problems at the institution four months before they became public. Wall to date has given no explanation for why he touted the performance of Ourada and Westerhaus around the same time.

Who’s leading the ongoing investigation?

State authorities handed the investigation over to the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI in early 2016. A prosecutor from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has also been assigned to the case to evaluate whether more systemic abuses may need to be addressed.

Any idea where it’s headed?

Underlining the scope of the inquiry into Lincoln Hills is confirmation that there are two simultaneous probes into the prison: one that could lead to criminal charges and another that could prompt a federal court order to reform practices.

If federal officials find such abuses, these investigations can eventually result in a public report on the findings, negotiations with local officials, a lawsuit and an order in federal court – overseen by an independent monitor – to overhaul local practices, according to the federal Department of Justice.

What’s Wall, the former top prison official, up to now?

Although he resigned from his cabinet post in February, Wall continued to receive a state salary after transferring under civil service laws to a job at the state Department of Justice. Attorney General Brad Schimel ordered Wall to be placed on paid leave upon his arrival, citing the ongoing criminal investigation and the possibility that Wall could be called to testify. Schimel then fired Wall in April for suggesting that an aide to Walker destroy a letter to conceal it from the public. Wall is appealing his termination with a state employment board.

Who should I contact with story tips, questions, etc.?

​Journal Sentinel reporters Patrick Marley and Jason Stein. They can be reached at patrick.marley@jrn.com and jason.stein@jrn.com, or at 608-258-2262 and 608-258-2263.

Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be reached at kkyle@gannett.com or on Twitter @keegankyle.