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| Wis. Bill Proposes Independent Panel for Prison Death Investigations |
| By The Journal Times |
| Published: 04/18/2003 |
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A panel of health experts and prison officials would have authority to order autopsies and investigate deaths of inmates in state prisons under a bill introduced by a lawmaker who also is a physician. Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee, has proposed a Prison Mortality and Morbidity Board, which would file a report with the inmate's family, a district attorney and top state legislators. 'Creating an independent panel removes all the politics from the death investigation. The question is, did the person die from a natural or unnatural death?' Wasserman said. A hearing on Assembly Bill 152 is scheduled for Wednesday at the Capitol in Madison. A similar bill failed to clear the Legislature last session, but Wasserman is hoping a new administration will help his odds this time around. Under the bill, Corrections would have to notify members of the 12-member board within 72 hours of a death and turn over any related information, including prison and medical records. Wasserman said he first introduced the proposal after the February 2000 death of inmate Michelle Greer at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac. Greer, who was 29, died of a heart attack on the floor of the prison kitchen after pleading for a hand-held medicated inhaler. The investigation of Greer's death raised suspicion from Greer's family and some members of the public, Wasserman said. Fond du Lac District Attorney Thomas Storm rejected the idea of conducting an inquest into the death because there was no evidence of a crime, Storm was quoted as saying in February 2001. Wasserman said he didn't want to cast doubt on findings in the Greer case, but an outside board only would help Corrections improve operations or absolve the department of possible liability, Wasserman said. Wasserman said Corrections officials were opposed to the bill last session. The department has not yet taken a stand on AB 152, said Corrections spokesman Bill Clausius. Other reported deaths at prisons have heightened the level of concern about prison health care, Wasserman said. Earlier this year, the state negotiated a $600,000 settlement with the family of a 21-year-old Racine man. Kelvin Jackson died at the Green Bay Correctional Institution July 12, 2001, while correctional officers allegedly ignored his repeated seizures. Last year, corrections formed its own Committee on Inmate/Youth Deaths at the direction of former Republican Gov. Scott McCallum after Greer's death, Clausius said. That seven-member group includes a warden, prison health services manager and member of the general public, all appointed directly the secretary of corrections. Other members are selected by four external agencies chosen by the secretary to provide members. The board proposed by Wasserman would include two representatives from the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority; two from the Medical College of Wisconsin; one nurse from a state agency; one nurse from a health maintenance organization; and one member who does not represent any of those groups. Other members would include a warden, prisoner health services manager, prison nurse and correctional officer. Wasserman's bill also dictates at least one board member be a forensics pathologist. |
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