Guard charged in 2 deaths at troubled Wisconsin prison pleads no contest to reduced charge

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — One of eight guards charged in the deaths of two inmates at a troubled maximum security prison in Wisconsin has pleaded no contest to a reduced charge. The Wisconsin State Journal reports former Waupun Correctional Institution guard Sarah Ransbottom pleaded no contest last week to a charge of violating a law governing conduct by prison staff and paid a $250 fine. Prosecutors charged the prison’s former warden and eight other Waupun staffers, including Ransbottom, in June in connection with the deaths of two inmates during a more than yearlong lockdown at the prison. Ransbottom tells the Wisconsin State Journal low staffing levels, long hours and forced overtime contributed to the death of at least one inmate.