UPDATED Aug. 3, 2016: Green Bay Correctional Institution is still on lockdown, according to Department of Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook.
There have also been several more incidents at the prison since the event where an inmate burned a correctional officer with boiling water last month. On July 30th, a visitor attempted to bring an illicit substance while visiting an inmate. DOC staff detected the substance and contacted the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, who took the individual into custody. A rifle cartridge was located outside in a staff area at GBCI, and DOC is currently investigating how it ended up inside the facility, Cook said.
Officer John McKee, the officer injured in the inmate attack in July, is still at the Burn Center, but he is recovering fairly quickly, according to Senator Dave Hansen's office. Recovery is going faster than expected, they said.
These problems at GBCI, and across the state prison system, have prompted a religious group to hold prayer vigils outside GBCI's walls.
JOSHUA of Green Bay, part of the statewide group WISDOM, originally organized the vigils in order to support inmates on a hunger strike who were protesting solitary confinement. Now, they are also praying for prison employees recently injured at GBCI.
"The one's working inside have an extraordinarily difficult job," said Marian Boyle Rohloff with JOSHUA. "They're working long hours, they're working hard, they're doing a good job."
Many attending the vigil have family in state prisons, or have been in prison themselves. They understand how important outside support is for inmates, they said.
"It gives them a sense of hope, it re-energizes them, to let them know that support is here," said Saahir Muhammad Jabbar, who served just over 9 years in a federal prison.
The group JOSHUA plans to attend a statewide prayer vigil, focusing on ending solitary confinement in Wisconsin prisons and drawing attention to safety concerns, next week in Milwaukee.
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The Brown County Sheriff's Department reports a corrections officer member at Green Bay Correctional Institution was severely burned in an inmate attack the morning of July 18. Investigators now say the inmate threw a pot of scalding water into the face of the officer
The staff member was flown to Wisconsin Burn Center in Milwaukee hospital. Another inmate was injured and treated for burns on his back. Investigators say the inmate was not the intended victim, but happened to be near the officer at the time of the attack. He remains at the prison.
The attack comes just weeks after a stabbing that injured three staff members and forced the prison to go into a lockdown.
Related: Inmate involved in prison attack found dead
