Adam Peterson
Adam Peterson, 20, a former University of Wisconsin student from Stillwater, Minnesota, who had been diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia, was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun on January 10, 2009, about a month after he was transferred there. The state corrections department and Dodge County sheriff's deputies said he apparently hanged himself and that they did not suspect foul play. Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls said a prosecution complaint alleges that a cellmate encouraged Peterson to kill himself and helped him do it, and the cellmate has been charged with assisted suicide, which he denies. The complaint says Peterson did not want to end his life that night because his family was coming for a visit. The warden said staff did not add extra security precautions and believed they had acted correctly, and authorities are investigating whether enough was done to prevent his death, given an earlier suicide attempt at the Dane County Jail.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). Corrections officials and Dodge County sheriff's deputies say he hanged himself with a bed sheet and that they do not suspect foul play, but they are investigating whether enough was done to prevent it, and the warden says staff added no extra precautions after his earlier suicide attempt at the Dane County Jail.
Reported by: state corrections department; Dodge County sheriff's deputies (outside investigators); Warden of Dodge Correctional Institution (the agency that held him); Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls (outside investigators); prosecution complaint.