By Emily Pofahl
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WAUPUN, Wisconsin (WISN) — Another inmate has died inside Wisconsin’s troubled maximum security prison in Waupun, the seventh in two years.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections officials confirmed to WISN 12 News on Wednesday that 23-year-old Damien Evans died Tuesday afternoon.
“Per Department of Corrections’ (DOC’s) policy, staff notified the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and the Dodge County Medical Examiner’s Office of the death. The Dodge County Medical Examiner’s Office is responsible for determining the cause of death,” a DOC spokesperson said.
Attorney Lonnie Story is representing a group of inmates suing the Department of Corrections over the conditions inside the prison.
“It’s a horrific place. This is medieval, the way that the conditions are in that place,” Story said.
He’s also representing family members of inmates who’ve died inside the prison.
“These folks have been through hell,” Story said.
Since June 2023, two inmates died by suicide, one died from a fentanyl overdose, one had a stroke and one died of dehydration and malnutrition. DOC officials have not released a cause of death for two other inmates.
Officials Wednesday would also not elaborate on how Evans died, though Waupun Mayor Rohn Bishop said drugs may have been involved.
“In this case, I’m hearing it sounds like a drug overdose, and that’s kind of on the security wing of the Department of Corrections,” Bishop said. “It’s a constant struggle for them. People are always trying to smuggle things in, and sometimes they get in when they’re not supposed to.”
Federal investigators also have been looking into a smuggling ring involving Waupun prison employees bringing in cell phones and drugs. Gov. Tony Evers’ office has said the investigation has resulted in the suspension of nearly a dozen employees.
Last summer, former warden Randall Hepp and eight other prison workers were charged in connection to the deaths of inmates Cameron Williams and Donald Maier.
Attorney Story said the DOC is fighting to dismiss complaints in the tenants’ class-action suit. He said he plans to re-file, with more inmates and more complaints of mistreatment.
“I can always see the writing on the wall,” Story said.
Online court records show Evans was serving time for a crime that took place in Racine County six years ago. He was incarcerated at Waupun for armed robbery and bail jumping in 2019.
This comes as Gov. Evers, last month, proposed a $500 million plan to reform Wisconsin’s prisons that includes converting Waupun to a medium-security center focused on job training for inmates and closing the prison in Green Bay.
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