ACLU, state file plans to reduce solitary confinement at teen prison

U.S. District Judge James Peterson last month ordered those plans to be written after he found teen inmates' constitutional rights were likely being violated at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls. 

The Department of Corrections and the inmates differed on many aspects of the plans, such as the maximum amount of time juveniles could be held in isolation and how soon new rules should take effect. Peterson is expected to decide those details in the coming weeks. 

Inmates at the prison complex 30 miles north of Wausau sued in January. They are being assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and the Juvenile Law Center.

At least four other lawsuits have been filed over incidents at the prison and the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into prisoner abuse and child neglect there.