Lawsuits at teen prison cost Wisconsin $21 million

MADISON - Lawsuits over the problems at Wisconsin’s juvenile prison complex have cost the state $20.6 million so far and those costs will continue to rise — possibly by large sums if some cases aren’t resolved in the state’s favor.

The facility for more than three years has been under criminal investigation for prisoner abuse and child neglect. If charges are issued, that could open the state to more legal exposure from lawsuits.

“It’s the cost of getting it wrong,” state Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee) said of the state’s legal tab.

The legal fees and settlements come on top of an $80 million plan by Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers to close Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls by 2021 and replace them with regional facilities for teen inmates.

In all, the problems at the complex north of Wausau and the decision to close it have cost the state more than $100 million.

At least five cases over conditions at Lincoln Hills are pending and more

could be filed.

Bulk of costs from one case

The bulk of the legal costs — more than $19 million — stems from a March settlement with a former Copper Lake inmate who was severely brain damaged after she hanged herself in her cell in 2015.

The 16-year-old girl, Sydni Briggs, had expressed suicidal thoughts and guards were supposed to check on her at least every 15 minutes and in any case as soon as she turned on the call light over her cell door. They didn’t check on her for 42 minutes, including 23 minutes after she turned on her call light.

Briggs was not breathing and had no pulse when guards discovered her, but they were able to revive her. She now has the cognition of a young child and will need around-the-clock medical care for the rest of her life.

Employee promotions — not discipline — followed the episode. More than two years later, three guards were fired as litigation over the case intensified.

The state agreed to pay Briggs $18.9 million. State taxpayers picked up the first $4 million of that cost, with the rest covered by insurers.

In addition, the state racked up a legal bill of about $105,000 for its own attorneys in the case, according to state documents.

Officials with the state Department of Corrections have emphasized they have made numerous changes since that incident and others that have drawn headlines, including greatly expanding worker training, equipping guards with body cameras and providing more mental health services.

Taxpayers have had to pay out for several other cases:

ACLU suit

The state in August agreed to pay $885,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center for their work representing inmates who said their rights were being violated at the prison. As part of the settlement, the state agreed to stop using pepper spray and greatly curb solitary confinement as a means of punishment. The state also spent about $320,000 for its own attorneys, bringing the total cost of the case to $1.2 million.

Toes smashed

In 2016, the state agreed to pay $300,000 to an inmate who had to have two of his toes partially amputated after a guard slammed a metal door on his foot.

Broken arm

The state has spent more than $35,000 so far on a case brought by a former inmate who claims guards rushed into his cell and broke his arm in 2014 when he was 16. Federal prosecutors have warned two of the guards involved they could be criminally charged.

Iowa girls

The state has paid about $33,000 to fight a pair of lawsuits brought by two Iowa girls who were held at Copper Lake — under a contract between Iowa and Wisconsin — in 2015 and 2016 starting when they were 16. One girl alleges a guard rammed her head against a wall and the other alleges a guard pressed a metal bed frame against her head while she was under a bed in her cell. The cases are on hold as an appeals court considers whether Iowa officials should be part of the case.

Dropped lawsuit

The state spent about $26,000 to defend itself — successfully — against a lawsuit brought by an inmate who claimed guards pepper-sprayed him and slammed him against the floor. The inmate dropped the lawsuit last month.

Inmates representing themselves

About $33,000 has gone toward defending the state from two lawsuits brought by a pair of inmates who are representing themselves and claim they were harmed at Lincoln Hills. Both inmates lost their cases, but one of them recently refiled his lawsuit in the hope of reviving it.