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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:
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Exposure to Heat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- $100,000 Paid to New York Detainee Whose Infant Died in Syracuse Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Naphcare, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, Aug. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Corrections Audits, Credits.
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Gun Laws/Crimes, Definitions.