By Gretchen Schuldt

​The number of positive coronavirus cases continues to surge in Wisconsin state prisons and on Friday was up 70% since Aug. 21, when case numbers started their steep climb.

There were 907 positive coronavirus cases in the prison system as of Friday, Sept. 11, up 373 since Aug. 21, when there were 534 cases. 

The number Friday was up 75, or 9%, from a week earlier, when there were 832 recorded cases, according to Department of Corrections figures. The biggest one-week increases were at Dodge Correctional Institution (up 39, to 119) and Racine Correctional Institution (up 25, to 109).

There also have been 244 positive coronavirus cases of DOC staff members.

David Liners, state director of WISDOM, a state social justice organization, urged members of the public Monday to contact their legislators about the crisis.

"Help us get the governor's attention," he said in an email.

WISDOM in July recommended that Gov. Tony Evers take several actions to reduce prison populations including:

• Releasing people who present a low risk to society, and who have a high risk of suffering from complications of COVID-19 – the elderly, the chronically ill, and those with compromised immune systems;
• Releasing people approved for work release, as they have already been determined to be of no danger to society;
• Releasing people who have been in prison since before they turned 25, and have already served more than 15 years, and have no history of serious trouble in the prisons;
• Releasing the 5,000 people currently in prison for "crimeless revocations", i.e. for technical violations of the rules of supervision.
  
  

The governor promised to move quickly to establish a team to propose a process and procedure for recommendations to be given to him about potential commutations.

"As of Sept. 14, he has not done anything," Liners wrote. "He has not even made a single public statement of his concern."

Meanwhile, a  person incarcerated in a facility with an outbreak attributed it, at least in part, to a coronavirus-infected person who was transferred there.

"He was not tested prior to being moved here..." the inmate wrote. "He has been on this unit infecting people. This young man was asymptomatic. Last night they moved the young man back to...quarantine. However, the man the kid was in with was not placed on quarantine. He was left on the unit to possibly infect more people here...."

He continued: "There is no further testing going to be done. The HSU (Health Services Unit) is doing temperature checks and asking if the person is experiencing symptoms. So if the inmate does not-self report because he doesn't want to go to quarantine, there is no way for them to know in a timely manner and in the case of the young man, who was asymptomatic, the temperature checks would not have revealed anything. So the long and short of it is that there is no way they can stop the spread with the current level of 'health' care the prison is providing." 

WJI is not naming the institution to protect the identities of the writer.

By Gretchen Schuldt

The number of positive coronavirus cases in the state prison system jumped by 56%, in just two weeks, Department of Corrections figures show.

​There were 534 positive cases on Aug. 21 and 832 cases on Friday, Sept. 4,  an increase of 298, the figures show.

The largest increase was recorded at Green Bay Correctional Institution. There were 185 incarcerated men who tested positive as of Aug. 21 and 270 positives on Friday, up 85.

Other significant increases were recorded at the Racine Correctional Institution (up 66, from 18 to 84), Dodge Correctional Institution (up 55, from 25 to 80), New Lisbon Correctional Institution (up 41, from 8 to 49), Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution (up 30, from 7 to 37), and the Milwaukee Women's Center, up 17, from 3 to 20. 

"For a while I was at least able to say the staff here is at least keeping us fed but things have gotten so bad that today everything came to a head!!" one Green Bay inmate wrote. For the past week here they've trying to feed us old moldy food and the portions are literally the size of two spoons!!" 

​We have to wear sweatpants for 7½ hrs a day. All of the previous week (July 7 to July 10) has been horrendous.

At 7 a.m. the outside temp would be 67°F; however, once in the building the temp on thermometer stated 90°F. There are box fans and a couple industrial (36" fans) none of which really do anything unless you are directly in front of them. Most of the working spaces you would sweat just standing still. On top of this we are required to wear a fabric mask for the entire 7½hrs. These masks do not breathe well. They offer us ice and water to keep cool; however, in that kind of heat it lasts maybe 10 minutes.

We do get three breaks a day; two 10 minute and one 15 minutes. I myself have developed a sweat rash that covered 80% of my back from the chair I sit in. We have asked for the ability to wear shorts during these times. In response we were told that wearing shorts is unprofessional for a work place. This has become a common excuse throughout the last 14 years that I have been locked up; we must wear out shirts tucked in to look professional at all times.

Mostly every day, there is a 'Heat Advisory' in effect which shuts down most movement such as work, recreation, track (any exercise/cardio) and courtyard activities. I can't believe that we are locked into our rooms, especially when there is a legitimate heat index.

We have separate day room times for the upper and lower tiers. Recreation also. When it is not our time out we are locked into our cells. This is quarantine procedure. The heat is oppressive and air does not get into the cell and circulate.

The emergency call buttons are rarely answered, which creates a severe security risk. They take on average close to 11-13 minutes roughly if at all. There are many older people on the unit and they are at risk of heat stroke, fatal heart attacks and seizures.

My cellmate is hypoglycemic and needs to go to HSU (health services unit) four times a day. Rarely does he get out of the cell on time. Therefore he has been denied essential medical care. There are hundreds of cases like this and they need to be brought into the light. The cell doors do not need to be double locked. We should be able to push the release button and exit if we so choose. This is a medium security facility. These actions are not necessary.

(Department of Corrections) Secretary Kevin Carr needs to be made aware of these indiscretions. (Division of Adult Institutions Administrator) Makda Fessahaye doesn't seem to be too concerned with these actions either. I am hoping that by me speaking out that this will start a conversation of the utmost importance. Peoples' LIVES are literally and figuratively at stake and hang in the balance. ​

​I wanted to make the community aware of the living conditions here. We are only allowed cell cleaning once a week on Saturdays and for only 10 minutes per cell and we get timed or get a conduct report.

The cleaning supplies they have consist of generic windex and watered-down disinfectant cleaner and one mop bucket, which each cell uses and water doesn't get changed, nor does the mop head. Very unsanitary.

It is extremely hot in the unit – no air-conditioning, no fans on the tiers, no circulation at all and when the sun is beaming through the window we get conduct reports if we cover the windows up to stop the burning of the sun.

They also only allow us to have three small 8-oz cups a day for ice water. They won't open doors or traps to get some air. A couple inmates on my unit has had some seizures due to how hot it is. This is inhuman to make us suffer like this.

Another note – when it's very hot outside they won't let us use the gym. We have outside rec which is ridiculously hot and humid but they allow the barracks to use gym everyday for multiple hours because they are minimum custody which is bullshit they shouldn't even be allowed on the same grounds as us max inmates.

The crazy part Is (some areas of the prison) have air-conditioning so we don't understand why we can't get some type of air flow. They waiting to several people to die, I guess.

By Gretchen Schuldt

The state prison population increased last week for the second week in a row, reversing the downward trend that began when the coronavirus outbreak prompted the Department of Corrections in March to stop accepting newly sentenced inmates from county jails.

DOC started accepting new inmates again June 1 and continues to do so, despite a statewide surge in coronavirus cases.

The number of incarcerated adults rose from 21,360 on July 10 – the low point in the state prison population this year – to 21,368 on July 17 and 21,390 on Friday.

The female prison population has been on the rise since June 26, when it hit a coronavirus-era low of 1,339. It rose in each subsequent week. The male population of incarcerated adults did not increase until until last week.

The overall prison population remains 9% lower than it was on March 6, early in the pandemic, when it stood at 23,485. On Friday, the population was 21,390.

By Gretchen Schuldt

​The decline in the state's population slowed markedly in the past two weeks as the state started accepting new inmates from counties, a practice it suspended March 23 in an effort to block the importation of the coronavirus into state prisons, according to state figures.

The state started accepting inmates again on June 1.

Because of the crowded conditions in prisons, they are considered prime sites for COVID-19 spread.

The Wisconsin prison population declined by just 66 inmates during the week ending June 5 and 106 during the week ending Friday, according to the Department of Corrections. The last time the prison population decline was anywhere near that small was during the week ending March 27, when it dropped by 109 people.

​The overall prison population fell from 23,256 on March 6, the week before Gov. Tony Evers declared a coronavirus-related state of emergency, to 21,548 Friday, a decline of 7%.

David Liners, state director of WISDOM, a justice organization, said Evers is not doing enough to reduce the risk to incarcerated people.

"The governor once claimed he wanted to cut the prison population in half," Liners said. "At the moment when it is most urgent to use the powers unique to his office, he has failed by refusing to act."

WISDOM is organizing a "Drive to Decarcerate" caravan to Madison on Thursday.  People interested in participating can learn more and sign up here.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases reported in state prisons continues to increase, as DOC introduces, belatedly, wider testing. There were 213 people incarcerated at Waupun Correctional Institution who tested positive, a 92 percent positive rate, according to DOC figures. Other positive tests were were recorded at Columbia Correctional Institution (2), Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center (18), Marshall E. Sherrer Correctional Center (5), Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (1), and Oshkosh Correctional Institution (8). Thus far, DOC has conducted 4,770 tests at its adult institutions, for a testing rate of about 22%. The results of 1,981 tests are pending. 

Incarcerated people continue to express apprehension and anger about the virus and their treatment in prison. Inmate testimonials are below. They have been edited for length and clarity and to protect the writers' identities

I put in a hsu (Health Services Unit) form saying I wasn't feeling good and I was woke up the next morning at 1 a.m. and they gave me a mask and brought me and my celly to hsu where I was given a flu test which was negative then they gave me the coronavirus test and told me we were being put on quarantine until the results came back....They said we were being the first people going to segregation on quarantine because the hsu unit was full so they said they cleared a wing out in set for us.

So me and my celly were forced to walk ourselves to the hole at 3 a.m. then when I got there they made me strip search and wear restraints just like a seg inmate. I tried to refuse telling them if they are not subject to do this over on the hsu unit then we shouldn't have to do it either and I told them that putting on them restraints against my will when I did nothing wrong gives me flashbacks ...I told them I wasn't trying to go through that again. 

I told them...I need to talk to a psychologist and a white shirt I was told I would see both but the whole time I was in seg I saw neither. I was told if I didn't put the restraints on I would receive a major ticket so I had no choice....I was treated worse than a seg inmate. A few hours after I was there the Sgt came to my door and told me...I had to wear seg oranges and I had to give him my keep-on-person meds which was the only property I had. So I tried to refuse until I was again threatened with a major ticket. I gave up my meds and my greens....I was told we would eventually get our property like the guys on the hsu unit get it they even get there electronics but they did the opposite and took what little property I had. I couldn't even get a book! 

(The man said he developed a migraine.)

It's hard to be in prison at any time and harder still when the  small niceties – a phone call, a turn outdoors – are taken away during a pandemic battle.

The testimonials below have been edited for length, clarity and to protect the writers' identities.
***

I want to bring awareness to the new phone restrictions....This is for my floor and my floor only. Now, on A3 my current housing unit is being restricted to one 20-minute phone slot after 4 p.m. No other housing unit has to abide by this rule. The floor as a whole is being punished due to a few select inmates with no regard and no respect to others. There are more appropriate ways to handle this situation. Like consequences for the individuals that are abusing the phones.

We already lost our visitation with our families and friends with one substitute video visitation
or other forms of communication. Many of us housed here are Mothers and remaining a constant in our children's life is very important. I have two children ages 4 and 9. They are both in 2 different households. I can't call them until after 6 p.m. due to their fathers work schedule.

With this new rule? I am forced to pick and choose each night which one I can call and say goodnight to! That is absurd. I should be able to call both of my children to say goodnight just like anyone else in this institution. We have a memo posted from less than a month ago stating how they are looking into other ways of communication due to the visits being cancelled at this time. This proves to be the complete opposite of that!

***
I received a minor conduct report for disobeying orders, due to another inmate permitting me to share a phone call conversation with a mutual friend, and I was given a disposition of 40 days loss of phone. I was never given a verbal warning, a written warning, a reprimand or a previous minor conduct report for disobeying orders related to phone use.

Nearly five months ago, (the institution) created an unreasonable pre-COVID-19 pandemic policy, which was originally meant to allow everyone access to the phone by limiting phone use to five calls a day per inmate due to some inmates monopolizing the phone. The policy never addressed the reality of an inmate permitting another inmate to use his phone time, especially during this National State of Emergency. (The institution) never attempted to relax on this policy due to COVID-19, but instead chose to continue this unjust policy in limiting our access to our families, friends and loved ones.

By Gretchen Schuldt
​
This post was updated on May 20 to reflect additional positive coronavirus tests reported by the Department of Corrections.

The number of people incarcerated in state prisons testing positive for the coronavirus jumped 70% this week, from 20 last week to 34, according to Department of Corrections figures.

Meanwhile, the state's prison population still is declining during the coronavirus crisis, but at a much slower pace than it did earlier in the pandemic, DOC figures show.

The biggest virus outbreak is at the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center in Milwaukee, where 18 people have tested positive as of Wednesday, up from 13 on Monday. Five tested  positive as of Wednesday at the Marshall E. Sherrer Correctional Center, also in Milwaukee. That number is up one since Monday. Another 116 residents of those two facilities have tested negative.

The DOC last week tested all 125 or so of the people held at those facilities at the time. All of the testing has been completed and the results received. 

Two people incarcerated at Columbia Correctional Institution have tested positive, as have eight at Oshkosh Correctional Institution and one at Waupun Correctional Institution, according to the figures.

Some 1,047 people are in quarantine, meaning they were potentially or directly exposed to the virus, according to the DOC.

During the week that ended Friday, May 15, the number of occupied prison beds fell  by 128, just 52% of the 243-inmate decline recorded the week ending April 10, which saw the biggest drop recorded thus far during the pandemic. 

The number of occupied beds in the prison system has dropped from 23,273 on Feb. 28 to 22,008 on Friday, a decline of 1,265, or 5.4%. The prison system is still about 25% over capacity.

The number of filled inmate beds (as opposed to community corrections beds) at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility rose for the sixth week in a row, and stood at 463 as of Friday, up six from the week before and 59 from its lowest pandemic population of 404 on April 3.

The MSDF inmate population still is down 24%, or 144 people, from its pre-crisis level of 607 on March 6. 

The number of people held for alleged probation and parole (including extended supervision) also has dropped significantly, from 905 on Feb. 28 to 315 on Friday, a decline of 65%. 

The first chart below shows the decline in prison population for each week beginning Feb. 28. The other charts show state prison populations over time.

DOC stopped accepting most new inmates on March 23, shifting to countiesThe number of people incarcerated in state prisons testing positive for the coronavirus jumped 35% Monday, from 20 to 27, according to Department of Corrections figures.

Meanwhile, the state's prison population still is declining during the coronavirus crisis, but at a much slower pace than it did earlier in the pandemic, DOC figures show.

The biggest virus outbreak is at the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center in Milwaukee, where 13 people have tested positive.  Four have tested positive at the Marshall E. Sherrer Correctional Center, also in Milwaukee.

The DOC tested all 125 or so of the people held there last week. Most of those tests are pending, according to DOC figures. 

Two people incarcerated at Columbia Correctional Institution have tested positive, as have eight at Oshkosh Correctional Institution, according to the figures.

Some 956 people are in quarantine, meaning they were potentially or directly exposed to the virus, according to the DOC.

During the week that ended Friday, May 15, the number of occupied prison beds fell  by 128, just 52% of the 243-inmate decline recorded the week ending April 10, which saw the biggest drop recorded thus far during the pandemic. 

The number of occupied beds in the prison system has dropped from 23,273 on Feb. 28 to 22,008 on Friday, a decline of 1,265, or 5.4%. The prison system is still about 25% over capacity.

The number of filled inmate beds (as opposed to community corrections beds) at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility rose for the sixth week in a row, and stood at 463 as of Friday, up six from the week before and 59 from its lowest pandemic population of 404 on April 3.

The MSDF inmate population still is down 24%, or 144 people, from its pre-crisis level of 607 on March 6. 

The number of people held for alleged probation and parole (including extended supervision) also has dropped significantly, from 905 on Feb. 28 to  315 on Friday, a decline of 65%. 

DOC stopped accepting most new inmates on March 23, shifting to counties the responsibility of housing sentenced inmates. 

The first chart below shows the change in prison population for each week beginning Feb. 28. The other charts show state prison populations over time.

The Department of Corrections announced Friday that it would test all inmates and staff at the Felmers O. Chaney  Correctional Center, with a population of 86 inmates, and the Marshall E. Sherrer Correctional Center, which houses 43 incarcerated people.

Both facilities are in Milwaukee.

When those additional 129 folks are tested, the state will have tested a whopping 1.3% of state prison inmates. Thus far, the DOC has tested about 0.7% of the 22,136 imprisoned people. 

Six of seven people previously tested at the Chaney site tested positive for the coronavirus;  all four inmates tested at the Sherrer Center tested positive, according to DOC information. 

The testimonials below are from inmates at different state prisons. They were edited for length and clarity.

​Well, since Tuesday 5/5/2020 I am now in COVID isolation; yet, ironically, housing us in about the most heavily trafficked area in the [north] cell hall: the showers (and we are not allowed to shower for at least 2 weeks).

It appears that everyone that attended library on Monday afternoon 5/4/2020 is down here with me, less a few that were taken to the hole for the something they said (trivial comments). The irony here is that I was allowed to move about and came into contact with a number of prisoners and staff within the almost 24-hour span between Mon. and Tue.'s quarantine, none of whom are down here. Some staff and inmates were not even wearing masks or PPE. 

On a moment's notice they required me to carry all my property down two flights of stairs unassisted, literally speed walking with two 30-40# bags, a dozen trips. I have tested recently to be malnourished and have serious chronic medical conditions. I wasn't even allowed to eat my lunch, i.e. unless I wished to forfeit my property or go to the hole (which is one and the same).

The isolation cell they put me in was filthy, containing the leftover "mattress," or the old uncovered, no-stuffing, ripped, urea-smelling sack of plastic the last COVID patient laid upon.  In fact, one of these guys has already been down here for quarantine before(!) and back again.  Then, having lost my single-cell, I will be coerced into moving back into a double-cell which they know I will refuse for medical & safety concerns, and will proceed to be thrown in the hole, incidentally forfeiting my recent approval for a medium.

So, allow me to intrigue you with this premise: Guards and inmates alike are free to wear masks/PPE at their discretion, yet even though I don masks/PPE and observe proper protocol, I am put in isolation and deprived law library/court access....

Keep in mind they aren't actually testing us, only screening and monitoring, and they are simply going to throw possible asymptomatic carriers right back into the population and law library, over and over again. And what about staff, some of whom invariably associate with these "Liberate Wisconsin" protests?

***

I have just over 9 months left. They have the COVID cases on one unit at this point. It seems to me that it is staying on that one unit, thank God. But we have guards who work in that unit that then go to another unit later that week. They don't seem to realize that its that carelessness that spreads this disease. We have maybe one or two guards who actually follow the mask ideas and they seem to be getting power hungry now that they have to keep us from being in contact with each other.

***

As of today's date, we have no cases of COVID-19 here. This institution takes the rules of social distancing very seriously. Starting on March 26 we were placed on a modified lockdown. Then a week later we started a full-blown rule change for everything... Starting with day-room time. Where as we used to get almost 13 hours out every day, we now see only 4.1 hours because our day room is broken into 3 groups of out time..(group 1, 2, and 3). Each group consists of anywhere from 30-40 inmates and the times are 1.5 hours for two of the periods and a final 50 minute period to finish off the night.

Inmates are only allowed to sit two to a table, maintain six feet apart, we eat in our cells, we lost the gym for rec, weight room, and library, because it's too close in quarters. But we still have the walking track where we are allowed to walk, jog or run every other day, but only with our group, and no more than 40.