8 months, 4 deaths at Waupun prison
Inmates, advocates decry lack of access to care
A prisoner who died at Waupun Correctional Institution late last month marks the fourth death at the facility in eight months.
Donald W. Maier, 62, who was charged with first-degree murder for the 1985 stabbing death of Benny Scruggs in
Wisconsin Rapids, died on Feb. 22, according to Wisconsin Department of Corrections records.
DOC declined to comment on Maier’s death on Monday. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating his death.
Maier “passed away in his sleep,” according to a notice in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune.
The Dodge County Medical Examiner did not immediately respond to questions about Maier’s death. The office has not released the cause or manner in any of the prisoners’ deaths, other than the first, which was ruled a suicide.
Since Waupun and other state facilities were put on lockdown last year, incarcerated people and their advocates have been protesting dire conditions and lack of access to medical care at the facilities. Officials began to loosen the lockdown restrictions last November.
At the time of his death, Maier was in restrictive housing — also known as solitary confinement or segregation. He was placed there on Feb. 13 due to “noncompliance and assaultive behavior toward staff,” according to DOC.
Maier was serving a 15-year prison sentence after being convicted of stalking the members of a jury from a previous court case, in which he was convicted of threatening a judge.
Last July, Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf found Maier competent to stand trial after a psychological evaluation.
On Feb. 16, however, Wolf ordered another mental competency exam.
After cycling through different prisons and supervised living facilities over the years, Maier arrived for the second
and final time at Waupun, one of the state’s five maximum security prisons, on Dec. 4 of last year. He died about three months later.
Maier’s death was reported shortly before DOC Secretary Kevin Carr announced his departure from the agency last Friday.
In June of last year, 60-year-old Dean Hoffmann was the first person to die during the lockdown at Waupun. Hoffmann’s family filed a lawsuit against DOC last month, which claims that correctional staff failed to administer Hoffmann his psychiatric medications in the months leading up to his suicide.
The cause and manner of the second and third deaths at Waupun are still under investigation by the Dodge County Medical Examiner.
Tyshun L. Lemons died on Oct. 2, 2023. At the time, Dodge Medical Examiner PJ Schoebel estimated the investigation would take at least three months.
Cameron J. Williams was reported dead on Oct. 30, 2023.
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune reporter Karen Madden contributed to this article.