Javarius Hurd, 17, pleaded guilty on Friday to a homicide charge connected to the death of prison guard Corey Proulx during a fight at Wisconsin’s youth prison and is now pressing for a mental-disease-based disposition instead of prison time. Hurd entered a guilty plea in adult court to second-degree reckless homicide and raised a defense tied to his alleged mental illness, according to online court records.
Hurd entered a plea of guilty/not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to one count of second-degree reckless homicide in connection with Proulx’s death, online court records show. He also pleaded guilty to one count of battery by a prisoner, and prosecutors dropped a second battery count in exchange for the pleas.
The next step for Hurd will be a trial in February, where jurors will determine whether he should be sentenced to prison or committed to a mental institution. Jurors will be asked to consider whether Hurd was suffering from a mental disease at the time of the fight and, if so, whether the mental disease impaired his ability to act within the law.
Hurd’s attorney, Aaton Nelson, said in an email to The Associated Press that the plea agreement “partially resolves the case involving the sad and tragic death of (Proulx).” Nelson also wrote that Hurd “realizes that nothing will compensate the victims for their loss and suffering” and that the agreement would “help all those suffering with their healing.”
Court documents say Hurd was incarcerated at the Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes School, Wisconsin’s youth prison, in June 2024. Prosecutors said Hurd grew upset with a female counselor whom he believed was abusing her powers, threw soap at her, and punched her. Hurd then ran into a courtyard and Proulx followed to stop him, prosecutors said, and Hurd punched Proulx several times.
Proulx fell, hit his head on the pavement, and later died, according to the reporting. Hurd was 16 at the time of the incident but was charged in adult court.
Another inmate involved in the episode, Rian Nyblom, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a party to battery and was sentenced to five years in prison in August, according to court documents. Prosecutors said Nyblom knew Hurd was upset with the counselor and wanted to splash her with conditioner and punch her; they said that about 15 minutes before the fighting began, he got extra soap and conditioner from guards and secretly gave it to Hurd. Nyblom told investigators he did not see Hurd attack the counselor but watched as Hurd punched Proulx, prosecutors said.
The incident occurred at a facility that has been the subject of long-running oversight and allegations. The Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes School has faced allegations of staff-on-inmate abuse, including excessive use of pepper spray, restraints, and strip searches. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit in 2017 seeking changes, and then-Gov. Scott Walker’s administration settled the case the following year by agreeing to a consent decree that, among other provisions, prohibited mechanical restraints such as handcuffs and the use of pepper spray.
Proulx’s death prompted calls from Republican lawmakers and from some staff at Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes for more leeway in punishing incarcerated children. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers rejected those calls, saying conditions at the prison have been improving. A court-appointed monitor reported in October that the facility was fully compliant with the consent decree’s provisions for the first time, according to the reporting. Legislators have also been trying for years to close the facility and replace it with smaller regional prisons, but those prisons remain under construction and Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes continues to operate.