Dant'e Cottingham on Prison Conditions in Waupun, Green Bay

Zac Schultz:
The calls to close prisons in Waupun and Green Bay have only increased in the last week, after the warden of Waupun Correctional and several employees were charged with felonies in the wake of multiple inmate deaths in the last year. Dant’e Cottingham is with Stop the Torture, a group pushing for the end of abuse in prisons. Thank you for joining us today.

Dant’e Cottingham:
Thank you for having me.

Zac Schultz:
So what was your first reaction when you heard that there were arrests and charges in relation to the warden and the correctional officers at Waupun?

Dant’e Cottingham:
Well, to be honest with you, first and foremost, I was shocked and I was shocked primarily because the conditions that led to these arrests and to the death of those men are conditions that’s been common practice for a very long time.

Zac Schultz:
Does it feel like accountability then for someone actually to be charged with that?

Dant’e Cottingham:
Definitely accountability and I’m happy that it happened. I would also be extremely happy to see accountability for some of the other conditions in other prisons, including Green Bay and some of the other prisons around the state.

Zac Schultz:
The death of one of the inmates specifically was ruled a homicide but no one will be charged for that, and instead, their abuse of a resident of a penal facility or misconduct in office. Do you think someone should be charged with homicide?

Dant’e Cottingham:
Absolutely. I think the system in itself should be charged. There — as I said, the common practice in the state of Wisconsin — when I heard about the fact that they — inadequate medication being distributed to the men, that’s common practice. That’s something that happened often. So then not only should the person here be held accountable, but I think the entire Department of Corrections should be held accountable as well.

Zac Schultz:
Part of your story is that you spent time in Green Bay Correctional, correct?

Dant’e Cottingham:
I spent a total of 27 years in prison. I spent 11 years in Green Bay. So part of my frustration is that this has been happening for a very long time. And a lot of times the public just aren’t aware of it.

Zac Schultz:
So when you were in Green Bay Correctional, how did you view the guards? Were they overworked? Understaffed? Uncaring? Did you view them in a morality sense?

Dant’e Cottingham:
Green Bay was completed in the 1800s, so it’s a very, very old prison. And the culture in the men and women that worked there was influenced by that as well. So there was, without question, a couple staff that was, that was that treated you humanely. But primarily most of the staff did not unfortunately.

Zac Schultz:
And is that just a product of the system, like are they trained and brought up that way, or is that the type of people that are attracted to that job?

Dant’e Cottingham:
I think all, all of the above and I think part of the reason is training. I believe that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections should focus on training people with trauma informed care approach.

Zac Schultz:
So members of both political parties have shown that they’re not interested in spending the hundreds of millions, or perhaps even billion dollars plus it would take to shut down these prisons and build a new facility. What in your view, will it take for them to be forced to do something?

Dant’e Cottingham:
They did an audit on Green Bay and they found out that 95% of Green Bay, the prison itself, is structurally inhabitable, right. So it’s not safe for the men that live there. It’s not safe for the men and women that work there. There needs to be some accountability with regards to their lives as well. So I’m, I’m not sure what it’s going to take, but what I, what I am sure about is that Stop the Torture Coalition will be there to highlight all of the things that’s wrong with it and to organize around the state and make sure that that, that, that we’re there to support the men and women that’s, that’s currently incarcerated.

Zac Schultz:
In regards to your coalition, have you seen more movement? Have you had more calls since this happened?

Dant’e Cottingham:
I have gotten a lot of calls since we began. I just got a call from somebody named Tom not too long ago, heard about it, reached out and said they want to get involved. There’s a lot. This issue, unfortunately, is impacting a lot of people. And there’s growing support. And anyone who’s interested in getting involved, please go to my website Dant’eCottingham.com. There’s a Stop the Torture tab. You can, you can leave me a message and we can connect there.

Zac Schultz:
There are federal lawsuits that are being filed. There’s been federal investigations. The FBI is looking into Waupun. Do you think it will be a financial penalty that it makes the state do this, or will it be a federal lawsuit that shuts something down? Does it have to go beyond the state, in your opinion, to actually make change?

Dant’e Cottingham:
Well, we’ll see with this investigation. We’ll see what happens with this investigation. This investigation is a step in the right direction. It’s brand new. I don’t think it’s ever happened in the state of Wisconsin. So hopefully things are moving in the right direction. But again, the Stop the Torture Coalition will be there to hold everybody accountable. And whatever we have to do to make sure that happens, we’ll protest, we’ll organize, we’ll be there. So and again, just to say very clearly, we’re not anti-DOC. We — the, the people that’s been impacted by this issue are simply anti-torture. We’re anti-inhumane conditions. So we’re willing to work with the DOC and anybody else who values humanity, that values justice and equality.

Zac Schultz:
All right. Dant’e Cottingham, thanks for coming in today.

Dant’e Cottingham:
Thank you for having me.