Prison staff criminally charged in inmate’s death, family speaks out
By Emily Pofahl
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WAUPUN, Wisconsin (WISN) — The family of an inmate who died inside Waupun’s maximum-security prison is speaking out after the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office filed charges against prison staff in his death.
“These investigations have shown a blatant disregard for the safety of human beings,” Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said in a news conference Wednesday.
Four inmates have died inside Waupun in one year. Warden Randall Hepp and eight other staff are criminally charged in two of the inmate deaths — Cameron Williams and Donald Maier. Officials said Williams died of a stroke, and Maier died of dehydration and malnutrition. His death was ruled a homicide.
Williams was just 24. His family did not know a lot of the details of his death, until Wednesday when they read about it in the criminal complaint.
“It just did not have to happen. I don’t think that you would treat a dog that way — an animal,” said Maxine Denise Childress, Williams’ grandmother.
The family is left outraged after reading the details of his death in the complaint. It outlines the days leading up to Oct. 30, 2023, when corrections officers found Williams dead in his Waupun prison cell.
“He didn’t even have the time to correct himself — to be a better person for him and whoever he had to be a better person for,” said Raven Anderson, Williams’ mother.
The investigation shows Williams suffered serious signs of medical distress for days before he died. Multiple prison staff reported him throwing up and being unresponsive. The complaint also states Williams collapsed in the shower, and had labored breathing in the days before he died.
Williams even told staff he needed to go to a hospital three days before he died, according to the complaint.
The court document said nurse Gwendolyn Vick told investigators Williams asked for medical care often, calling him a quote “frequent flyer.”
Vick, along with Sgt. Tanner Leopold, and Lt. Brandon Fisher now all charged with abuse of residents of penal facilities in Williams’ death.
“Because of their negligence and them feeling like Cameron’s life wasn’t important, he lost his life. And if they get away with it, it’s just going to get worse,” said Tina Jackson, Williams’ aunt.
Williams’s family sued the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and Waupun’s warden last month. Their attorney, Lonnie Story, told WISN 12 News Wednesday that he hopes the new criminal charges will help settle that suit.
“Hopefully now the governor, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Justice will come to the table and do the right thing by meeting with these families and letting them know that they can’t bring that loved one back, but at least there will be some accountability,” Story said.
Vick, Leopold and Fisher are facing up to three and a half years in prison in Williams’s case, a maximum fine of $10,000, or both — if convicted.
Story told WISN 12 News he has been in contact with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding a potential civil rights investigation into the prison.
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