Here & Now

New Rules In Store for Wisconsin Juvenile Inmate Treatment

Frederica Freyberg:

A first look at the ongoing legal trouble for the state’s juvenile corrections facilities in Irma. Today was the deadline a federal judge in Madison set for the two sides in a lawsuit over conditions at the state juvenile detention facility to submit a plan for how to substantially change how inmates are treated there. He ruled two weeks ago that the use of solitary confinement and pepper spray at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools are likely violations of inmates’ constitutional protections.

Prison guard:

Final opportunity to comply and put your hand in.

Frederica Freyberg:

As part of the court case, the ACLU of Milwaukee filed two videotapes from inside the institution with the court on Thursday. They show inmates being sprayed repeatedly with pepper spray. The judge ordered attorneys to craft a plan that reduces solitary confinement, narrowly defines when pepper spray can be used and ordered shackles can only be used on inmates for safety purposes. Two other lawsuits have been filed and the prison is under federal criminal investigation for prisoner abuse and child neglect.