Gov. Scott Walker is ordering that an interim superintendent be hired at Wisconsin's juvenile prisons in light of recent attacks against guards and workers at the facilities.
Walker sent a letter Tuesday to Department of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher ordering him to hire the interim leader. The post has been vacant since September.
Litscher just last week said the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake prisons were safe for both guards and inmates.
Walker says in the letter that "We cannot allow individuals convicted of battery, armed robbery, and even murder to feel empowered to attack staff and each other in these institutions."
He says no matter the challenges, staff working there must have "the tools they need to maintain order in the facilities and protect themselves and to protect the offenders held at these institutions."
