Those closely connected to Wisconsin’s prisons react to conviction of former Waupun warden

• Former Waupun prison warden Randall Hepp pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the death of prisoner Donald Maier.
• Maier’s family filed a lawsuit alleging deliberate indifference to his medical needs, while another family pursues a similar suit for the death of prisoner Cameron Williams.
• Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt supports the misdemeanor conviction but suggests Gov. Tony Evers and the DOC share responsibility for inadequate resources and leadership.

The former Waupun warden’s reduced conviction to a low-level misdemeanor in connection with a prisoner’s death has elicited some mixed reactions.

Randall Hepp pleaded no contest April 28 to violating the law of a state or county institution, in connection with the February 2024 death of 62-year-old Donald Maier, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine. Hepp was initially charged with felony misconduct in public office, which carries a maximum sentence of 1½ years in prison and two years of extended supervision.

Hepp, 63, was the highest ranking of nine Waupun Correctional Institution staff members charged with felonies in June 2024 tied to prisoner deaths. He and six other staff members were accused of involvement in Maier’s death, which the Dodge County Medical Examiner ruled a homicide, from probable dehydration and malnutrition. Three staffers were accused of involvement in the October 2023 death of 24-year-old Cameron Williams, who died of a rare stroke after staff failed to provide him medical attention.

“(The) coalition welcomes the news of former warden Hepp’s conviction,” said Rev. Darren Utley in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Utley is a prison reform advocate that helped organize a coalition of activists, some family of prisoners, who have protested and demanded action at the Department of Corrections in recent years.

“We don’t see this as something significant for prison rights because the court and confinement system in (Wisconsin) has shown itself to be willing to downplay the injustices of the police and corrections officers while it seeks maximum punishment for the poor and working people of the state,” he added.

At Hepp’s plea and sentencing hearing, Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Martin De Vries said Hepp was not directly involved in the staff’s failure to provide basic necessities to Maier, but as the prison’s top leader, Hepp was responsible for ensuring staff members followed policies.

De Vries said he did not believe imposing any jail time to Hepp would protect the public.

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, who investigated Maier’s death and referred charges, said he is in agreement with the district attorney’s decision to settle the case as a misdemeanor conviction.

“I can understand why some may feel additional sanctions are warranted, but our court system must be blind to ‘feelings’ and ‘agendas’ and decisions made solely on the facts of the case,” Schmidt wrote in an April 29 statement.

An investigation by the sheriff’s office found in the days before Maier’s death, prison staff intermittently shut off water to his cell to prevent him from flooding it, but did not properly document when the water was turned on or off. They also did not document missed meals — and there was evidence Maier had not eaten since five days before he died — or provide Maier with his medications, according to a criminal complaint.

“If (Hepp) knew what was going on there and he did nothing about it, we would know about that by now. It would come through,” De Vries said at the hearing. “So the issue is what the warden had been doing to make sure this kind of thing didn’t happen.”

Family attorney reacts and Maier’s mother gives statement to court

Maier’s family filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit, claiming DOC staff were “deliberately indifferent” to Maier’s serious medical and mental health needs, violating his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

His mother declined comment to the Journal Sentinel and deferred a reporter to her attorney.

“Wisconsin has to stop treating its prison system as a bottomless pit into which we can cast people we don’t want among us without ever giving a thought for them after that,” attorney Jeff Scott Olson, who is representing Maier’s family, said.

“We hope that there is a point beyond which the powers that be can no longer turn a blind eye to the wretched conditions in our prisons, and we hope that point has been passed with this case.”

Dodge County District Attorney Andrea Will did read a victim impact statement from Maier’s mother at Hepp’s hearing.

She said she wishes all the defendants accused of having a role in her son’s death would spend some time in jail, “so that they learn firsthand what it is like to be dependent on guards for food, water, medical care and protection.”

In the statement, Maier’s mother thanked authorities for pursuing charges, but said she was disappointed that “a slap on the wrist and the embarrassment of being caught and arrested appear to be the sentence that they are willing to settle for.”

Schmidt says the governor needs to take accountability

Schmidt said Hepp was placed in a difficult position by Gov. Tony Evers and the former Department of Corrections administration.

“Don’t get me wrong, he was the warden and was by law administratively responsible for Waupun Correctional Institution, and as a result, two deaths that occurred,” Schmidt said. “While we explored it, no Wisconsin or federal law directly tied back to his bosses, who failed to provide adequate resources or leadership.”

Evers’ office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but the governor did call for reform of Waupun Correctional in his two-year budget, among other proposals like closing Green Bay Correctional Institution. He aims to turn Waupun Correctional into a vocational village focused on job training.

“Keep in mind that there are many pieces to this puzzle that have not yet made their way through the criminal justice system, as there are still outstanding cases being processed through the courts,” Schmidt said. “There most certainly is accountability taking place and being sought for the two deaths for which the sheriff’s office made arrests.”

Williams’ mother says the process has caused ‘significant distress’

Williams died of a rare stroke Oct. 30, 2023, after prison staff noted he was ill and behaving strangely, but did not enter his cell to check on him and provide medical attention, according to the criminal complaint in that case.

Hepp was not charged in connection to the death, but three other staffers have been charged and have hearings in the next couple months.

Williams’ Chicago mother, Raven Anderson, said she believes Hepp should have been charged in connection to her son’s case, especially since the district attorney said the two deaths, Maier and Williams, were similar.

“I believe it is imperative that he is held accountable for the circumstances surrounding my child’s death,” Anderson said in a statement. “At the time of the incident, he was responsible for the management of the facility and should not be allowed to distance himself from the situation.”

“Given the importance of accountability in this matter, I respectfully urge that the warden be charged in conjunction with the other personnel involved,” Anderson added. “This situation has caused me significant distress, and I hope for a resolution that acknowledges the seriousness of the responsibilities held by all parties.”

Anderson also filed a civil lawsuit, claiming Williams’ constitutional rights protecting against cruel and unusual process were violated.

Advocate calls for action, change

Utley, the prison reform advocate, said regardless of the outcomes of the criminal cases related to Maier’s and Williams’ deaths, the state’s prisons need to remain under a microscope.

“Whatever the outcome of these cases, until we the people of (Wisconsin) demand a dramatic reduction in our prison population through alternatives, probation, clemency and the efforts neighboring states have already enacted we will continue to see torturous conditions in our state prisons and county jails,” he said.

Although many injustices have come to light in recent years at Wisconsin’s prisons, Utley said many more incidents are hidden in darkness.

“We organized protests and vigils around these charges when they were brought because we heard of the same abuses and neglect from those inside the majority of the states prisons,” he said.

Vanessa Swales contributed to this report.

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