The mayor of Waupun made it clear that he wants the Waupun Correctional Institution to stay open despite widespread calls to close it.
TMJ4 has been following this story since last week when Randall Hepp and eight members of his staff were charged with the death of two inmates.
Hepp is charged with misconduct in public office. The others are accused of misconduct or abusing inmates.
"In Waupun, we'd like to keep the prison. It means a lot to the community not just from an economics viewpoint," Mayor Rohn Bishop stated.
Bishop said that the building is not perfect and needs updating, but that it has been a fixture in the community with a history going back more than a century.
"Everyone in Waupun knows or is related to somebody who has worked here," Bishop said.
Last week, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt released findings into an investigation into the deaths of four men at Waupun Correctional Institution.
"As the sheriff, I am angered at how these men were treated and how they died," Sheriff Schmidt said.
There have been renewed calls to close the site which has struggled with staffing and build something new.
"We are operating the oldest prison in state of Wisconsin at a dangerous and reckless manner," Sheriff Schmidt pressed.
Since then TMJ4 has received numerous calls from current inmates and people claiming to be prison staff complaining about conditions.
Late last year, the governor and the Department of Corrections announced a list of efforts to address safety concerns in the prison system that included pay raises and changes to inmate housing.
Data from DOC shows the current vacancy rate at Waupun Correctional Institution at 43 percent. A DOC spokesperson described it as the lowest vacancy rate at the facility since April 2021.
Mayor Bishop says they are seeing the state's efforts have an impact.
"I was saddened to see all those people get charged. I'm not saying mistakes weren't made, and I'm not getting involved with the investigation, but I do know these people are being overworked and they were being underpaid. When they get the staffing fixed, the problems will take care of themselves," Mayor Bishop replied.
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