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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:
- He Died in a Florida Jail. The Company in Charge Should Have Sent Him to the Hospital, Experts Say., July 1, 2026. Armor Correctional Health Services, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Failure to Train/Supervise, Deliberate Indifference.
- ICE Stops Reporting Deaths of Recently Released Detainees, July 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Immigration Law/Offenses, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions.
- Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Immunity/Liability, Mental Health.
- Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Parole, Prisoners' Rights.
- BOP Ordered to Restart Gender Affirming Care for Trans Prisoners, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Transgender.
- BOP Supervisor in Colorado Indicted for Smuggling Over 400 Vapes, July 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Colorado Prison Wardens Participated in Longstanding Racist, Homophobic Group Chat, July 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Gay/Lesbian, Employee Litigation.
- Rikers Island Captain Nicknamed “Terror of the Tombs” Indicted for Extortion, Wage Theft, July 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Threats by Staff, DOC/BOP misconduct, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Fraud and Deceit.

