Democrats propose bills to improve prison conditions amid heightened scrutiny
MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- Democrats are proposing a series of changes to improve conditions at prisons that have been under heighten scrutiny following inmate deaths and suicides.
The package of 15 bills introduced Thursday would increase inmates' access to hygiene products, recreation, the outdoors, and communication with family and friends among other proposals address oversight.
It comes as the Waupun Correctional Institution is facing a federal lawsuit following what inmates cite as inhumane conditions during a lockdown that began in March that was a result of a staffing shortage.
Incarcerated individuals in Green Bay and Chippewa Fall have also been under lockdown for months which has forced hundreds of inmates to stay in their cells for nearly 24 hours with limited resources.
The Department of Correction calls the restrictions a "period of modified movement" rather than "lockdowns" because the rules can be modified.
The "conditions of confinement" bills include:
-Raising the minimum wage to $2.33 an hour for inmates
-Providing $25 per month stipend to use towards hygiene products, free feminine products
-Require access to four hot bathing periods per week, two visitations per week that allow inmates to physically embrace loved ones
-Provide at least seven hours of recreational opportunities per week, 14 hours of "structed programming"
-Allow inmates in solitary confinement to have access to books, pens, paper, and hygiene products, ensure a weekly media credit to access electronic devices
-Increase transparency by creating a public dashboard with data related to solitary confinement, lockdowns, and complaints
-Allow lawmakers visitation rights to tour prisons
Talib Akbar, vice president of WISDOM, a coalition that works on criminal justice issues, said lockdowns "deteriorate a person" and predicts more people will die if conditions don't improve.
"It's rough for those guys and it rough for us to tolerate this without any recourse," said Akbar, who served 20 years at Waupun and was placed in solitary confinement 10 times while serving a sentence for sexual assault.
"This is the worst it's ever gotten here in Wisconsin's prison system," he said.
Three people have died at Waupun in the last four months. At the Milwaukee County Jail, six in-custody deaths have occurred over the last 14 months.
It triggered the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors torequire an in-depth report from the sheriff's office detailing best practices for providing mental health treatment to at-risk inmates, and evidence related to incidents at the jail.
Rep. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee), who authored a series of the bills, said he understands they won't solve all the issues, but he called them a start.
"We have a long way to go," he said. "But today, here and now, this moves us in the right direction."
Rep. Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh), chairman of the Assembly Corrections Committee, said he was "disappointed" Democrats didn't reach out to his office to work on the bills together.
He also suspects that the package of the proposals will face an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled Legislature.