Posted on 06/07/2024 5:24:25 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
WAUPUN, WI - Megan Hoffman-Kolb has a lot to remember about her dad, Dean.
"He was such a kind, compassionate man," Hoffman-Kolb said. "We would go to the grocery store, and he would strike up a conversation with anyone. He just took life really slow. If we were in the car and I was like, 'Dad, can you, like, hurry up,' he would slow down further. He was just a jokester like that."
But she also remembers watching him struggle with his mental health.
"I knew my dad when things were really good and we were able to spend the weekend with him, and then I knew my dad when he was locked up in his room on Christmas day."
That struggle lead her father to a 28-year prison sentence for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend.
"When he was in Sheboygan County [Jail] awaiting trial, he was happy because it was kind of that stable living that he was looking for," Hoffman-Kolb said. "Somebody was making sure he ate, somebody was making sure he took his medications."
But after his conviction, he ended up at Waupun Correctional Institution. Just 80 days into his sentence, 60-year-old Dean Hoffman died by suicide in his cell.
"Understaffed, overpopulated, locked down, why would they ever assume they could take care of a man with that status?" Hoffman-Kolb said.
In the following months, three more residents died at Waupun Correctional. At the same time, Megan started speaking out, holding protests and meeting with elected officials.
"I just couldn't believe that my dad's death didn't spark immediate corrective action, and then the next two, and then the the final one in February," she said.
Eventually, the Dodge County Sheriff opened an investigation into the four deaths. His office found that Waupun prison staff did not properly distribute Hoffman's medication, but the district attorney declined to file charges related to his death.
"They did alert us that they were not going to press charges, specifically due to, you know, not being able to to convince a jury," Hoffman-Kolb said. "It was kind of like a slap in the face."
However, they did charge nine people in connection with the two of the four deaths at the facility in the last year. For Hoffman-Kolb, that's a good start.
"I was like, holy cow, holy cow, holy cow," she said. "And then they talked about bringing charges, and I was so grateful because my whole advocacy has been just to shed the light on what's happening so that no other family goes through this, and I was so thankful that it finally somebody's being held accountable."
Over the last year since her father's death, Hoffman-Kolb has built a community of others who have experienced similar situations.
"Now I'm making connections with people in other states that are going through the same thing we are going through, and it's really just built this amazing community that I didn't even know existed," Hoffman-Kolb said. "When I found out my dad died in June, I felt so alone. Now I feel like I have such a great group of people that are so uplifting."
And while it's a club no one wants to be a part of, Hoffman-Kolb says she hopes her father's death will shine a light on what needs to change.
"I just hope that that makes the changes that we need in our prisons," she said. "I hope that this and the charges, I hope that they move this whole movement forward, and maybe are the start, the little spark that we need to get the whole system reformed."
Wisconsin warden and 8 staff members charged following probes into inmate deaths
He was such a kind, compassionate man
But he kidnapped is girl friend.
Sorry he wasn’t fine up standing citizen.
This is why we need to bring the state mental institutions back...
Howzabout the daughter do something to make sure her dad ate, and pooped, and wiped, and whatever. Dad was a dangerous bum.
Agreed. Mass murder took off like a rocket when the mental hospitals were closed down in the 1970s.
But if such hospitals are reopened the democrats will find a way tho lock up political opponents.
I AM OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER MENDOTA STATE HOSPITAL.
BORN & RAISED IN SO WIS.
Dis she file a lawsuit for negligence against the jail for not providing proper oversight and medications to her father? These are usually multimillion dollar payouts. At least they are here in Washington State
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