WISCONSIN — A former Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) employee pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of failing to follow state or county institution laws in the death of an inmate in February.

Sarah Ransbottom was a former guard at WCI. She was fined $250, according to court documents. 

As part of a plea deal, the felony charge of misconduct while in office was dropped.

Investigators alleged that Ransbottom did not check on Donald Maier, a WCI inmate, but logged that she did.

Maier died in prison in Feb. 2024 due to malnutrition and probably dehydration, according to the Dodge County Medical Examiner. The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide.