Family accuses prison officials of 'deliberate indifference' in lawsuit over Waupun overdose death
The sister of Tyshun Lemons, who died of an accidental overdose at Waupun Correctional Institution, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and the prison's former warden Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed by Lemons' sister Iema Lemons, alleges her brother's constitutional rights protecting against cruel and unusual punishment were violated at the prison.
Tyshun Lemons died on Oct. 2, 2023 of "acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl toxicity," according to Dodge County Medical Examiner PJ Schoebel.
The lawsuit claims that DOC officials "willfully and deliberately ignored their duties," and that their "deliberate indifference to the conditions" at Waupun resulted in Tyshun Lemons being able to obtain the drugs and overdose on them.
Former Waupun Correctional Institution Warden Randall Hepp is listed as a defendant, along with former DOC Secretary Kevin Carr and his newly-selected replacement, DOC Secretary Jared Hoy.
Iema Lemons said Friday that she moved forward with the lawsuit because she wants to “hold every single person that is not doing their job to the highest standard accountable."
“At the bare minimum, there was a failure to protect,” she said.
She said she emailed Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt statements on Friday from "multiple" people incarcerated at Waupun with her brother, detailing his final days and alleging that staff ignored their calls for help as he was "going down."
The Waupun prison has recorded dozens of overdoses since 2020, according to DOC data. Between January 2020 and March 2023, the department reported 44 incidents in which Narcan or naloxone was used on prisoners at Waupun. Narcan or naxolone are administered in cases of suspected drug overdoses.
The U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating a suspected drug and cellphone smuggling ring involving staff at the prison. To date, 11 state employees have been placed on administrative leave, with five later resigning or being fired.
The civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Tyshun Lemons now joins a list of cases filed against DOC in the deaths of Dean Hoffmann, 60, and Cameron Williams, 24, as well as a class-action lawsuit.
The Dodge County Sheriff's Office investigated all three prisoners' deaths, as well as that of 62-year-old Donald W. Maier. All four men died at the prison between June 2023 and February 2024.
On Wednesday, Hepp, the former warden, was one of nine staff charged in relation to the in-custody deaths of Maier and Williams.
Maier died Feb. 22 from probable dehydration and failure to thrive due to malnutrition, one week after prison staff began intermittently shutting off the water to prevent him from flooding his cell. His death was ruled a homicide.
Williams died of a rare stroke on Oct. 30, 2023. In the weeks leading up to his death, Williams begged for help as his health quickly deteriorated, according to other people incarcerated in the same unit who spoke to the Journal Sentinel.
Hoffmann died by suicide in solitary confinement on June 29, 2023. He had a documented history of bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts. In the two and a half months leading to his suicide, prison staff failed to provide his bipolar and antidepressant medications as prescribed more than three-quarters of the time while in custody at Waupun, records show.
Dodge County District Attorney Andrea Will chose not to file charges in the deaths of either Hoffmann or Tyshun Lemons, Schmidt announced Wednesday.
Despite the presence of illegal drugs in the prison, Schmidt said the investigation into Tyshun Lemons' death showed "no concerns of staff misconduct."
Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or [email protected]. Follow her on X @Vanessa_Swales.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tyshun Lemons' family sues prison officials over Waupun overdose death