Big Docs: Wisconsin Youth Counselor Brain-Dead After Violent Assault by Inmate, How And When Happened!

MADISON, WI (WFCN) —

Following a fight with a 16-year-old inmate, a counselor at Wisconsin’s troubled youth prison was deemed brain dead, the county coroner announced on Wednesday. This occurred less than three weeks after prosecutors filed criminal charges against a warden and several staff members in connection with the deaths of two maximum security inmates.

According to Lincoln County Coroner Valerie Caylor, Corey Proulx, 49, was pronounced brain dead on Tuesday to allow his family to move forward with organ donation.

On Wednesday, the prisoner was charged by prosecutors in an adult court with two counts of battery by a prisoner, felony murder-battery, and second-degree reckless homicide. If found guilty on all counts, he could serve a maximum of 58 years in jail.

A $100,000 cash bond was imposed for him by Lincoln County Circuit Judge Galen Bayne-Allison, according to online court records. On Wednesday afternoon, his public defender Jessica Fehrenbach, who is named in online court documents, did not pick up when his phone was called.

Because juvenile court hearings are confidential, the Associated Press is refraining from naming the prisoner in fear that his attorneys may attempt to transfer the case there.

In a statement released on Wednesday, state representative Michael Schraa—the head of the Assembly’s correctional committee—questioned if the Department of correctional is functioning in a “crisis mode.” He committed to convening a hearing “as quickly as possible” on the agency’s general operations.

Schraa stated later in the statement, “Lives need to be protected. We have a deceased staff member, nine DOC employees facing criminal charges, and four deceased inmates.”

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Sen. Van Wanggaard, the chairman of the Senate judicial committee, and Schraa on Wednesday filed an open records request with the Department of Corrections seeking access to all data pertaining to the altercation, including audio and video recordings. The request was supported by Rep. Calvin Callahan and Sen. Mary Felzkowski, whose districts include the youth penitentiary.

The legislators noted that both the oversight committees and the communities surrounding the institution would find the documents to be of “paramount interest.”

At Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake Schools, the state’s juvenile detention facility in Irma, northern Wisconsin, on Monday night, Proulx was hurt in a brawl. A prosecution complaint states that the 16-year-old prisoner had planned to harm a staff member because he felt she was misusing her authority and treating him unfairly.

He got another prisoner to get a cup of soap, then he hit the employee repeatedly and hurled it in her face before running into an outdoor courtyard.

Proulx went over to the prisoner, who, the suit states, started beating him without provocation. The prisoner may be seen using “full force” to punch Proulx twice in the face on camera. Proulx went limp, stumbled, and struck his head on the sidewalk. After that, according to the complaint, the prisoner ascended a basketball hoop and perched on it to watch over the courtyard.

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Following treatment at a hospital, the first employee was discharged. To another hospital, Proulx was airlifted.

Officials from the Department of Corrections said on Tuesday that the prisoner had no wounds that needed medical attention.

To honor Proulx, Governor Tony Evers ordered Wisconsin and American flags to fly at half staff until dusk on Thursday.

“Corey led with kindness and compassion in his commitment toward helping and supporting the youth he worked with,” the governor said in a statement. “By all accounts, Corey was a dedicated public servant.”

According to a statement from corrections officials, Proulx left the facility for a brief period of time two years prior and then returned to work as a counselor at Lincoln Hills last spring.

The statement from DOC Secretary Jared Hoy read, “A career in corrections, with its dual mission to protect the public and guide individuals toward rehabilitation, can be demanding and requires so many sacrifices for our staff and our families, and Corey made the ultimate sacrifice.” “All of Corey’s family members and friends are in our thoughts as our DOC family mourns his loss.”

Wisconsin has just one juvenile prison: Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake. Allegations of excessive use of pepper spray, handcuffs, and strip searches by staff members against inmates have dogged the facility. At now, the facility is being managed by a monitor appointed by the court.

Representative Felzkowski, a member of the legislature representing the jail district, stated in a statement, “I am finding it difficult to keep my anger at bay as I think about why this occurred, and how it was allowed to occur.” “I have been raising the alarm about the imminent possibility of a tragedy at Lincoln Hills for far too long. It was always a matter of when, not if.”

The demise occurs slightly over two weeks following the filing of charges by prosecutors against Waupun Correctional Institution Warden Randall Hepp and eight staff members for a variety of felonies, including misconduct and abuse of inmates, in relation to two inmate deaths at the maximum security facility since last year. According to court records, one of the prisoners passed away from a stroke and the other from dehydration. The prosecution claims Hepp and the staff neglected them.

During the past year, Waupun has lost two more prisoners. The other person overdosed on drugs, while the first committed suicide. Although no one has been charged in connection with those fatalities, federal officials are looking into a possible prison smuggling operation.

A persistent scarcity of guards has also been a problem for the state jail system. Based on the most recent data available on the DOC website, the vacancy rate at Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake was approximately 12% for the first two weeks of June.