A 49-year-old Wisconsin youth prison counselor has been declared brain-dead following an assault by a teenage inmate, the Lincoln County coroner confirmed Wednesday.
State Department of Corrections officials said Corey Proulx was seriously wounded during a conflict with the 16-year-old Monday night at Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake, the state’s youth prison in Irma.
The suspect allegedly first attacked another staffer who he believed was abusing her power, according to a criminal complaint, then went after Proulx.
Proulx’s head struck concrete during that altercation, according to The Associated Press. He was declared brain-dead Tuesday, prison officials said.
The coroner, who hasn’t returned a request for comment, reportedly said the counselor was declared dead to effectively facilitate organ donation.
The first staff member attacked was taken to a hospital and has since been released. The alleged assailant, who has not been identified, required no medical attention.
Operations at Lincoln Hills-Copper Lake — Wisconsin’s sole youth prison — were put under the watch of a court-appointed monitor in 2018 amid complaints of staffers abusing inmates. A 2017 class action suit against the youth facility alleged chemical agents, mechanical restraints and strip searches were excessively used to manage inmates.
The monitor reported facility operators were “moving in a positive direction” after completing its 19th site visit in March.
Earlier this month, the Warden at Wisconsin’s maximum security Waupun Correctional Institution and eights of his staffers were brought up on felony charges including the mistreatment of inmates after one prisoner died from a stroke and another perished due to dehydration, according to court documents.
Two other inmates also died in captivity over the past year, though no one one has been charged in the drug overdose or suicide blamed for those deaths.
With News Wire Services
