In a harrowing account of alleged abuse and neglect, a former inmate has filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and several of its officials. The complaint was filed by Donta Jenkins in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on December 16, 2025, naming the Wisconsin Department of Corrections as the defendant. Jenkins claims that while incarcerated at Waupun Correctional Institution, he was subjected to deliberate indifference regarding his mental health needs, leading to severe self-harm incidents and subsequent physical abuse by correctional officers.
The lawsuit details Jenkins’ struggle with serious mental health issues during his incarceration. According to the complaint, despite an Administrative Law Judge’s explicit order for mental health treatment during his sentence, Jenkins alleges that he received no meaningful psychiatric care. This lack of treatment reportedly exacerbated his condition, culminating in multiple acts of self-harm. On September 19, 2018, after another self-harm incident where Jenkins bit open his arm, he claims correctional officers used excessive force against him. “I was choked and dragged,” Jenkins recounts in the filing, describing how officers allegedly twisted his wrist and placed him in excessively tight restraints that caused further injury.
Jenkins accuses the defendants of engaging in a coordinated effort to conceal their misconduct. He asserts that they delayed issuing conduct reports and denied him due process by preventing him from attending disciplinary hearings where he could present evidence of abuse. Furthermore, critical video evidence purportedly documenting these events was allegedly concealed or destroyed by prison staff.
Seeking justice for these alleged violations of his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under U.S.C § 1983, Jenkins is pursuing compensatory and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief to prevent future harm. He requests not less than $50,000 from each defendant in compensatory damages for physical pain and emotional distress suffered during his incarceration. Additionally, Jenkins seeks punitive damages amounting to at least $100,000 per individual defendant for their willful misconduct.
Representing himself pro se in this legal battle, Donta Jenkins calls upon the court to recognize the grave injustices he endured while under state custody. The case is presided over by Judge William M. Conley under Case ID 25-cv-1031-wmc.
Source: 325cv01031_Jenkins_v_Wisconsin_Department_of_Corrections_Complaint_Western_District_Wisconsin.pdf
