Wisconsin prison chief retires amid guard shortage; departure another personnel headache for Evers

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s prisons secretary will retire next week as his embattled agency continues to struggle with overcrowded institutions, a glaring shortage of guards and allegations of inhumane conditions.

Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday that Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr will step down on March 8. Evers appointed him to the position in 2018.

“The past five years have been quite memorable, and I could not be prouder to have worked with some of the finest public servants in the country who are doing amazing work every day under very difficult conditions,” Carr said in a statement released by the governor’s office.

Carr struggled through his tenure with overcrowded prisons. As of Friday, the adult prison system housed 22,275 people, about 4,700 prisoners over capacity. Problems have been exacerbated by a lack of guards; as of Friday, the guard vacancy rate across the prison system stood at 26.3%.

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The shortage of guards grew so severe last year that prisons in Green Bay,