POLITICS

Lincoln Hills: Judge OKs deal to eliminate pepper spray, reduce solitary confinement at teen prison

Patrick Marley and Don Behm
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - A federal judge signed off Thursday on a settlement that will eliminate the use of pepper spray and greatly reduce solitary confinement at the state's juvenile prison complex that is slated to close by 2021. 

"I think ultimately we’ve moved toward more profound justice here," U.S. District Judge James Peterson said at a hearing on the settlement.

As part of the deal, taxpayers will pay $885,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center, which represented the teen inmates who brought the class-action lawsuit. 

Children shackled to tables at Lincoln Hills School for Boys have less than 8 inches to maneuver as they try to do school work. The juvenile prison in northern Wisconsin was sued by inmates.

That payment is part of $20.6 million in legal bills the state has built up to address a range of problems at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, which share a campus 30 miles north of Wausau.

Those costs are expected to rise because other lawsuits are ongoing, including one in which former guards recently refused to answer questions under oath to avoid incriminating themselves. 

RELATED:Taxpayers to pay $885K to wrap up lawsuit filed on behalf of youth prison inmates under agreement

RELATED:Legal woes at teen prison have cost Wisconsin $20.6 million and counting

Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake have been under criminal investigation for more than three years for child neglect and prisoner abuse. Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers in March agreed to close the prisons and replace them with smaller regional facilities.

The settlement will end the use of pepper spray, greatly restrict solitary confinement and reduce strip searches while Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake remain open. Those limits —to be phased in over a year — will also apply to the new facilities.

An independent monitor will help enforce the agreement and will have the power to inspect the facilities, including the new ones.

RELATED: Crisis at Lincoln Hills juvenile prison years in making

RELATED: Judge: 'Ted Kaczynski has less restrictive confinement' than Lincoln Hills teen inmates

Under the settlement, teen inmates cannot be placed in solitary confinement as a form of punishment. They can be confined to their rooms for short periods — generally a maximum of four hours — when prison officials determine there is a risk they will harm others. 

Pepper spray will be banned and handcuffs will be allowed only in limited circumstances, such as when inmates pose a risk to themselves or others. Strip searches also will be limited.

RELATED: Federal prosecutors identify two former guards as targets in Lincoln Hills investigation

RELATED: Wisconsin will pay nearly $19 million to former teen inmate injured in suicide attempt

The settlement winds down the case, though the monitoring means problems there could be addressed by the court in the future. 

Other litigation continues. Last month, former guards James Johnson and John Wienandt repeatedly invoked their constitutional right not to incriminate themselves in depositions they gave as part of a lawsuit brought by an inmate whose arm was broken in 2014 when he was 16.

Separately, prosecutors have told Johnson and Wienandt they could be charged as part of their ongoing criminal probe.

RELATED:Wisconsin prison guards facing possible charges on allegations of breaking teen's arm and leaving him naked in cell for hours in 2014

With Lincoln Hills closing, officials in Milwaukee County and elsewhere are preparing for the new regional facilities. 

The state will remain responsible for juveniles with adult court sentences and others considered serious juvenile offenders. Counties will be responsible for the remaining juveniles, which make up a majority of the population now at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake.

There were 66 boys from Milwaukee County at Lincoln Hills as of Aug. 28, including 14 on serious juvenile offender orders and 52 others, Milwaukee County youth and family services administrator Mark Mertens said. There were seven girls from Milwaukee County at Copper Lake as of that date and two of those juveniles were under serious juvenile offender orders.

About 61 percent of youths at both facilities are from Milwaukee County, said Mertens.

Walker's plan will cost up to $80 million, with as much as $40 million going to counties for planning and construction of local facilities.

The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services has hired a consultant to review possible locations and prepare preliminary designs for a secure center as part of the county's request for state funding, department Director Mary Jo Meyers said. The deadline for county applications is March 31, 2019.

Patrick Marley reported for this story in Madison with Don Behm in Milwaukee.