Gov. Tony Evers says he hasn't visited lockdown-plagued state prisons recently

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday he hasn't recently visited the state prisons under his watch that have been the site of at least three deaths in four months as the facilities remain in months-long lockdowns caused by staffing shortages.

Evers' recent absence at the correctional facilities in turmoil comes five years after the Democratic governor campaigned against Republican former Gov. Scott Walker for his refusal to visit any prisons, including the state's troubled youth prison in northern Wisconsin under investigation by federal officials over inmate and staff abuses.

"I have not gone to the prisons recently. I've been to many of the correctional institutions over the years, but I'm in constant contact with the staff," Evers said at an event in Milwaukee. He said Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr visits Waupun's prison every day.

"We're working on this every single day. I get an update every single day from the Department of Corrections. The leader is on site every day," Evers said. "So we're doing what we can but it is about people. It's a people issue. We need to have the staff to make sure that they're doing they're there so we can have regular corrections."

Evers' spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said Evers has visited adult and juvenile prisons since taking office in 2019, in contrast to his predecessor who said he saw "no value" in doing so. Cudaback said the severe staffing shortages have made it difficult for Evers to visit but said the governor plans to make a visit to the three facilities under lockdown "in the immediate future."

"A visit requires having significant staffing resources present and, given the severe vacancy rates at these institutions, would mean diverting the limited available staff to be able to accommodate, pulling those already-strained resources away from performing basic functions to operate these institutions," Cudaback said in a statement.

"A visit also requires putting people in our care under further restrictive movement than they are currently under even as the department is actively working to restore regular movement in all three of these institutions."

Cudaback said Evers will visit Green Bay, Stanley and Waupun correctional institutions soon "while working to ensure minimal unnecessary strain on limited staffing resources and disruption to people in our care."

"He has been receiving daily briefings regarding the situations at Wisconsin’s correctional institutions and has likewise received regular updates about the DOC secretary’s recent and ongoing visits to and communications with these institutions," she said.

Green Bay, Stanley and Waupun correctional facilities have been in a state of lockdown, or what the state Department of Corrections describes as a "state of modified movement," which limits inmates' movements within the facility.

Three inmates have died in four months in Waupun Correctional Institution, which has limited inmates movement since March. The third death at Waupun occurred Monday. More than half of staff positions at the facility are vacant.

This has forced roughly 1,000 inmates at Waupun to remain in their cells for nearly 24 hours each day. That means eating meals in their cells, limiting time outdoors or in the library, and having limited shower access, according to advocates for the incarcerated.

DOC spokesman Kevin Hoffman said lockdowns and limiting inmate movements can be used "in response to events like emergencies or disturbances."

"Eliminating them would remove one of the tools facilities have to ensure safety for staff and all persons in our care," Hoffman said. Hoffman said no facility is in a total lockdown, which would limit all movement.

Prison officials have limited inmate movement amid growing staffing shortages. According to data from the DOC, the percentage of vacant correctional officer and sergeant positions has grown from 10% in October 2017 to 32% this month.

"That's a huge issue," Evers told reporters about the deaths of inmates during lockdowns. "We have to be thoughtful about people that die in our care. And we are very concerned about that. But at the end of the day, we do need to make sure that we have enough staff and that's what's making the lockdown, or whatever term that is more appropriate, (happen)."

After defeating Walker in 2018, Evers toured the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls during his first week on the job. The tour fulfilled a campaign promise he made to contrast himself with Walker, who didn’t visit any correctional institutions during his eight years in office even as abuse occurred at the youth facility for years while Walker was governor.

Evers has made the closure of the youth prison a priority and in 2026, a new facility is scheduled to replace the prison in Irma, which is expected to be converted to an adult institution.

The governor also pushed for pay raises for prison staff after taking office in an effort to help boost recruitment and retention. The current two-year state budget Evers signed into law this summer included pay raises for state employees, including a $33-per-hour minimum pay rate for prison employees with increased pay progression rates and incentives for roles that are often vacant.

Advocates and family members of those incarcerated in Waupun's prison have called on Evers and Carr to address issues at Waupun and other prisons in lockdown. Carr has rejected recent interview requests from the Journal Sentinel.

Stanley Correctional Institution has been in lockdown since the beginning of the year, due to a lack of staff. Lawmakers representing the district called the situation "heartbreaking," and noted that many incarcerated people at the facility don't have access to the programs and jobs that help them prepare for reintegration into society.

Green Bay Correctional Institution is also under a lockdown, with those incarcerated complaining of a lack of access to showers and the outdoors. The department has cited a lack of staff and the behavior of those incarcerated as reasons for the lockdown, but advocates and those housed there say the limited movement is breeding the tense and violent atmosphere.

Laura Schulte of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Molly Beck and Kelly Meyerhofer can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com and kmeyerhofer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Evers says he hasn't visited troubled state prisons recently