Prisoners locked in their cells for days on end report walls speckled with feces and blood. Birds have moved in, leaving droppings on the food trays and ice bags handed out to keep inmates cool. Blocked from visiting the law library, prisoners say they have missed court deadlines and jeopardized appeals. One thousand inmates incarcerated at Waupun Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison in southeast Wisconsin, have been confined mostly to their cells for more than four months, ever since prison officials locked down the facility and halted many programs and services. The state’s Department of Corrections has offered little explanation about the lockdown or why it has lasted so long.

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Organizations: Waupun Correctional, The New York Times, state’s Department of Corrections Locations: Wisconsin, Waupun