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Bag'm, Tag'm and Bury'm; Wisconsin Prisoners Dying for Health Care
[The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (www.jsonline.com) published an investigative series titled: "Wisconsin's Death Penalty," by Mary Zahn and Jessica McBride, October 22-24, 2000. Wisconsin doesn't have capital punishment, but the Journal Sentinel revealed the routine "execution" of state prisoners by a Department of Corrections health care system, which seemingly places little value on prisoners' lives. The series sparked public outrage and led to immediate and substantive prison health care reforms. Portions of the following article are excerpted by permission from "Wisconsin's Death Penalty"]
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More from this issue:
- Bag'm, Tag'm and Bury'm; Wisconsin Prisoners Dying for Health Care, by Dan Pens
- WA Law Libraries Threatened; DOC Proposes Budget Cuts
- Food Strike Puts Washington DOC on Spin Control, by Dan Pens
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Fraud Charged by Washington DOC Whistleblower, by Dan Pens
- $330,000 Verdict in MI Beating
- $4,500 Verdict in NY Hernia Suit
- WA DOC Whistleblowers Speak Out: Is Anyone Listening?, by Paul Wright
- CA Medical Lab Faked Prison Tests, by Marvin Mentor
- AZ Prisoners Can't Access Internet, But the Net Accesses Them
- $5,500 Awarded in NY Unlawful Imprisonment Suit
- $160,000 Verdict in NY Diabetic Cyst Suit
- $115,000 Settlement Where Guards Fed NY Prisoner Ground Glass
- The Prison Payoff: The Role of Politics and Private Prisons in the Incarceration Boom
- MO Prisoner Awarded $130,000 in Retaliation and Haircut Claims
- Ohio Abandons Private Food Service Experiment
- Tide Turns Against Prison Privatization
- SC Jail Escape Kills One
- IL Prison Phone Ruling Published
- OH S.Ct. Strikes Down Bad Time Law
- News in Brief
- Work Stoppage at Idaho CCA Prison
- No Qualified Immunity for Alabama Blanket Strip-Search Policy
- Yeskey Dismissed on Remand
- Mentally Ill Prisoners in the New Jersey Prison System, by Julia Lutsky
- Louisiana Abandons Private Juvenile Prisons
- $7,500 Paid to Settle Delay of Legal Property Suit
- Louisiana Abandons Private Juvenile Prisons, by John E Dannenberg
- A.I. Reports on US Compliance with UN Convention Against Torture, by Julia Lutsky
- $8,000 Awarded in NY Chair Collapse
- Ninth Circuit Requires Evidentiary Review Before Terminating Old Consent Decree Under PLRA
- $7,500 Award in NY Window Injury
- $1.75 Million Verdict in Juvenile Death Suit
- $30,000 Awarded to NY Prisoner Slashed in Attack
- BOP Prisoners' Convictions for Destroying Military Factory Upheld
- $49,999 Settlement in CA Sex Extortion Suit
- Conditions Claims Viable in WA PRP
- Failure to Exhaust Requires Hearing Before Dismissal
- Leave to Amend Complaint Improperly Denied
- $158,500 Awarded in NY Slip and Fall
- Summary Judgment Reversed on Diabetes Claim
- Book Review: Doing Time: 25 Years of Prison Writing, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
More from Dan Pens:
- Federal Religious Freedom Law Passed, April 15, 2001
- South Carolina Prison Chief Fired as Scandal Widens, April 15, 2001
- Bag'm, Tag'm and Bury'm; Wisconsin Prisoners Dying for Health Care, Feb. 15, 2001
- Food Strike Puts Washington DOC on Spin Control, Feb. 15, 2001
- Fraud Charged by Washington DOC Whistleblower, Feb. 15, 2001
- CMS Fined Nearly $1 Million in Virginia, Dec. 15, 2000
- Death as a Salesman: Benneton Ad Campaign Comes to Death Row, Dec. 15, 2000
- Illinois Supermax Hunger Strike, Dec. 15, 2000
- Whistle-blowing Doctor Shakes Up Nebraska DOC, Nov. 15, 2000
- Corcoran Show Trial Ends with Acquittals, Nov. 15, 2000
More from these topics:
- Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Treat, Overcrowding, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $2.75 Million Paid by Washington County and NaphCare for Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Naphcare, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- Missouri Prisons Called Out for Incomplete Death Records, Hellish Solitary Heat, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Exposure to Heat, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Deliberate Indifference.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Infections, Environmental Law, Water, Public Records Act.
- New Illinois State Law Requires Prisons to Submit Annual Hospice Reports, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer, Failure to Treat, State Legislation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Internal Assessment Contradicts Public Claims About Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Deliberate Indifference.
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Mothers in Prison, Deliberate Indifference.
- Survey of Arkansas Jails Reveals Strained, Costly Health Care System, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.

