Current:Home > ScamsWisconsin prisons agree to help hearing-impaired inmates under settlement -AssetLink
Wisconsin prisons agree to help hearing-impaired inmates under settlement
View
Date:2025-04-16 15:33:49
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has agreed to provide more help to hearing-impaired inmates as part of a settlement with federal investigators.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that its investigators had been probing complaints from inmates at the Racine Correctional Institution, the Taycheedah Correctional Facility and the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center in Milwaukee that Corrections officials weren’t repairing inmates’ hearing aids and weren’t providing access to services such as sign language interpreters, text telephones and phones compatible with hearing aids.
“People with disabilities in Wisconsin deserve equal access, and that does not change when they are incarcerated,” said Gregory J. Haanstad, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
The settlement calls for Corrections to provide hearing-impaired inmates with appropriate aids and services, including sign language interpreters, video telephones and hearing aids when necessary. The agency must make reasonable modifications to its policies to accommodate hearing-impaired inmates, such as handcuffing them in front of their bodies so they can sign and allowing additional time for phone calls using an interpreter.
Corrections personnel also must set up a process for identifying hearing-impaired inmates when they enter a facility, provide training on the Americans with Disabilities Act to staff and pay three aggrieved inmates $15,000.
A Corrections spokesperson didn’t immediately respond late Monday afternoon to an email message seeking comment on the settlement.
The settlement marks another public relations black eye for an agency reeling from multiple deaths across the prison system in recent months.
Five inmates have died at Waupun Correctional Institution since June 2023, two by suicide, one of a fentanyl overdose, one of a stroke and one of malnutrition and dehydration. Prosecutors have charged the prison’s former warden, Randall Hepp, and either other Waupun staff members with misconduct in connection with the stroke and malnutrition deaths. Hepp has pleaded not guilty.
Federal investigators also have been looking into a suspected smuggling ring at the prison. A former employee at the prison pleaded guilty in mid-September to smuggling contraband, including cellphones, tobacco products and drugs, into the facility in exchange for money.
An inmate at Green Bay’s maximum-security prison was charged in early September with killing his cellmate because he was Black and gay, according to court documents.
Prosecutors in northern Wisconsin’s Lincoln County have charged a 16-year-old inmate at the state’s youth prison with killing a counselor during a fight in June.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- New Mexico officer killed in stabbing before suspect is shot and killed by witness, police say
- Who has the most Super Bowl wins? The teams and players with the most rings in NFL history
- Peter Schrager's incredible streak of picking Super Bowl champions lives on with Chiefs win
- Euphoria's Hunter Schafer Says Ex Dominic Fike Cheated on Her Before Breakup
- Waymo driverless car set ablaze in San Francisco: 'Putting out some rage'
- 'I'm just like a kid': Billy Dee Williams chronicles his 'full life' in new memoir
- US closes 7-year probe into Ford Fusion power steering failures without seeking further recalls
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Older workers find a less tolerant workplace: Why many say age discrimination abounds
Ranking
- 51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
- Popular online retailer Temu facing a class-action lawsuit in Illinois over data privacy concerns
- 49ers' Dre Greenlaw knocked out of Super Bowl with Achilles injury after going back onto field
- What is breadcrumbing? Paperclipping? Beware of these toxic viral dating trends.
- US Open player compensation rises to a record $65 million, with singles champs getting $3.6 million
- Pakistan election results show jailed former PM Imran Khan's backers heading for an election upset
- Super Bowl 58 winners and losers: Patrick Mahomes sparks dynasty, 49ers falter late
- If a Sports Bra and a Tank Top Had a Baby It Would Be This Ultra-Stretchy Cami- Get 3 for $29
Recommendation
The Daily Money: Disney+ wants your dollars
Republican effort to restore abortion rights in Missouri folds
North Carolina voter ID trial rescheduled again for spring in federal court
Stock market today: Asian markets mixed, with most closed for holidays, after S&P 500 tops 5,000
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
Proof Jason Kelce Was the True MVP of the Chiefs Super Bowl After-Party
White House to require assurances from countries receiving weapons that they're abiding by U.S. law
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Exchange After 2024 Super Bowl Win Proves Their Romance Is a Fairytale