Guard charged in 2 deaths at troubled Wisconsin prison pleads no contest to reduced charge

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of eight guards charged in the deaths of two inmates at a troubled maximum security prison in Wisconsin has pleaded no contest to a reduced charge, becoming the first defendant to resolve their case.

Former Waupun Correctional Institution guard Sarah Ransbottom pleaded no contest last week to a charge of violating a law governing conduct by prison staff and paid a $250 fine, the Wisconsin State Journal reported, citing court records.

Prosecutors in June charged the prison’s former warden, Randall Hepp, and eight other Waupun staff members, including Ransbottom, in connection with the deaths of inmates Donald Maier and Cameron Williams.

Both of those deaths occurred during a more-than-yearlong lockdown at the prison, which was first built in 1851 and has struggled with staff vacancy rates for years.

Men held at Waupun have filed a class action lawsuit alleging mistreatment, including not having access to health care. The U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating a possible smuggling ring at the prison, located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Madison.

Five inmates at Waupun have died since June 2023. Two killed themselves, one died of a fentanyl overdose, one died of a stroke, and one died of malnutrition and dehydration.

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Ransbottom, who became a correctional officer in 2022, was one of four Waupun staffers originally charged with misconduct in office, a Class I felony that carries a maximum sentence of 3½ years of combined prison time and extended supervision, and up to $10,000 in fines.

She told the Wisconsin State Journal that low staffing levels, long hours and forced overtime contributed to the death of at least one inmate. Ransbottom acknowledged falsely signing off on documents showing she had checked on Maier late on the night before he was found dead in his cell in February. His death was ruled a homicide due to malnutrition and dehydration.

Guards are supposed to conduct rounds at regularly scheduled times throughout the day to make sure inmates are in their cells when they should be and that they aren’t in need of medical attention.

Ransbottom said she wasn’t able to complete all of her rounds because she was giving medical aid to another inmate and, with only three guards overseeing about 150 inmates in that wing, she could only do so much.

“It’s very unsafe to have ... just three officers in there,” she told the newspaper. “And that’s two doing rounds and one doing all of the observation checks. So if you have 15 guys that are on observation status and you have one officer doing those, it’s nearly impossible. And it’s really impossible to be in two places at once.”

According to a criminal complaint, Ransbottom signed off on documents showing she completed her rounds late on the night of Feb. 21 and into the early morning hours the next day. But surveillance footage doesn’t show her checking any cells in the hours before Maier, 62, was found dead the next day.

Ransbottom said she had been working 16-hour days leading up to that night and hadn’t worked in the restrictive housing unit that Maier was in until Feb. 19, just three days before he was found dead.

During that shift on Feb. 19, she told the sergeant on duty that Maier was not acting normally, she said.

Maier had been flooding his cell, which caused other cells to flood, and was naked while acting like he was swimming, according to Ransbottom and the criminal complaint.

Other prison guards have also told the Wisconsin State Journal that high vacancy rates have caused safety issues for inmates and guards.