The family of Donald Maier, a Wisconsin inmate who died from dehydration and malnutrition while held in solitary confinement at Waupun Correctional Institution, has reached a $3.75 million settlement with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Maier’s mother filed the wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit in April 2025 in federal court. The case accused corrections workers of showing deliberate indifference to Maier’s medical and mental health needs before his death in February 2024.
Maier, 62, was serving a 15-year sentence related to stalking a juror in a previous case. He died on Feb. 22, 2024, while housed in solitary confinement at Waupun, a maximum-security prison in Waupun, Wisconsin.
According to the Dodge County medical examiner, Maier died of dehydration and failure to thrive due to malnutrition. His death was ruled a homicide after investigators found that prison staff failed to properly document or respond to his need for food, water, and medication.
Maier’s family claimed he spent the final days of his life in a deteriorating mental and physical condition. Filings alleged that staff failed to complete required checks, missed meals, and did not ensure that he received medication for known medical and psychological conditions.
Investigators also found that staff repeatedly shut off water to Maier’s cell after he flooded it. Records cited in the case showed that Maier repeatedly asked for water, while workers did not always document the shut-offs, confirm when service had been restored, or provide him with water themselves.
The complaint also claimed prison staff failed to follow policies for inmates who refuse food or appear to be on a hunger strike. Maier became increasingly unable to communicate his needs in the days before his death, while staff documented missed meals and signs that his condition was worsening.
Maier’s family argued that the same failures described in the investigation supported both the wrongful death and civil rights claims. The case accused prison officials of withholding necessary care despite clear signs that his condition was worsening.
His death led to criminal charges against several Waupun employees, including former Warden Randall Hepp and former prison nurse Jessica Hosfelt. Hosfelt was charged with neglecting an incarcerated person, a felony that carries a possible prison sentence of up to three and a half years and a fine of up to $10,000.
Charges against some other employees were dismissed, while several former staff members resolved their cases through plea agreements. Hepp pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge related to laws governing state institutions and was fined $500.
The settlement follows broader scrutiny of Waupun Correctional Institution, where multiple inmate deaths have led to lawsuits, criminal investigations, and calls for changes in prison operations.
Under the agreement, the state will pay $2 million by June 30 and the remaining $1.75 million by July 31. The claims brought by Maier’s family will be dismissed as part of the settlement.
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