'I need answers': Mother of Waupun prisoner who died of rare stroke files federal lawsuit
The mother of Cameron Williams, a prisoner at Waupun Correctional Institution who died from a rare stroke after other prisoners say he begged staff for help, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and prison officials.
"Hopefully no family has to go through this again," said Raven Anderson in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges Williams' constitutional rights protecting against cruel and unusual process were violated.
Williams, 24, was found dead inside his solitary confinement cell on the morning of Oct. 30, 2023. The Dodge County Medical Examiner determined Williams died from a stroke caused by "multifocal cerebral venous thrombosis," or multiple blood clots in the brain.
Williams "sought medical treatment and was ignored by correctional officers," according to the lawsuit, which includes a request for a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.
In addition, the lawsuit names former DOC Secretary Kevin Carr, Deputy Secretary Jared Hoy, Waupun Warden Randall Hepp and two unnamed correctional officers referred to as "John Doe." Carr retired in March.
A Wisconsin Department of Corrections spokeswoman declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Anderson is represented by Lonnie Story, a Florida-based attorney who also filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other prisoners at Waupun over a lengthy lockdown last year.
Prisoners describe Williams' last days, including his 'blood-curdling' screams
The lawsuit repeatedly cited a Journal Sentinel investigation that pieced together the circumstances of Williams' death.
Prisoners held in the same unit as Williams described his final days to the news organization through a series of letters, emails and phone interviews.
According to their accounts:
Williams began feeling unwell around Oct. 21, telling one of the men he was throwing up blood, losing his hearing and experiencing blurred vision. Williams was placed on suicide watch and removed from the unit. When he returned, his speech was slurred and his condition seemed worse.
The men said Williams spent Oct. 28 bursting into fits of crying and pleading for assistance.
“The screams were blood-curdling,” Robert Ward later wrote in a letter to the Journal Sentinel. “No one came to help him.”
That evening, Williams fell silent.
None of the men interviewed by the Journal Sentinel heard any sound from his cell or saw any movement over the next 36 hours or so, even as correctional staff continued to stop by Williams' cell and called out to him at several points.
About 10 a.m. Oct. 30, prison staff pulled Williams' body out of his cell. Three prisoners told the Journal Sentinel his body appeared stiff and his face ashy and puffy, leading the men to question how long Williams had been dead.
Officials say a time of death has not been determined. The Dodge County medical examiner's office, the Dodge County Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Corrections continue to investigate Williams' death.
Williams had history of mental health disorders
Williams, a Chicago native, had a history of mental health struggles before his incarceration.
Medical records reviewed by the Journal Sentinel describe a troubled childhood marked by domestic violence, substance abuse, stints in juvenile detention, and a history of suicidal ideation starting as early as 9 years old.
Anderson believes her son was neglected and misunderstood by prison staff because of his mental health disorders.
“He did have a mental illness and I don’t think that they took the time to recognize that,” she said.
In 2019, Williams was sentenced to prison for pushing a woman to take her purse in Green Bay. He was released twice on community supervision, but each time returned to prison after probation agents found he broke the rules of his supervision, said Beth Hardtke, a DOC spokeswoman.
At the time of his death, he was potentially facing several more years on charges of assaulting prison staff.
Waupun was one of several Wisconsin prisons placed on lockdown, or modified movement, last year. Although the restrictions were gradually lifted, incarcerated people and their advocates say the state agency has long been ill-equipped to handle the mental and physical health needs of the people in their care.
Williams was the third of four prisoners to die at the maximum-security facility over an eight-month period.
Since his death, his mother's life has been turned upside down. She left her job as a social worker. Her 26-year-old son, Devin Anderson, has been missing since November when he was last seen in Illinois. Her other children, ranging in age from 13 to 26, often ask what happened to Williams.
She doesn't know what to tell them because she does not know herself. She said she remains troubled by the lack of transparency from the Wisconsin prison system.
"I need answers," she said. "I want justice for my son."
Drake Bentley can be reached at 414-391-5647 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mom of Cameron Williams who died at Waupun prison files lawsuit