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A Wisconsin teen charged as an adult in the killing of a prison guard during a fight at the state’s youth prison pleaded guilty to homicide but told the court he believes mental illness should keep him out of prison sentencing. Javarius Hurd, 17, entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree reckless homicide in connection with Corey Proulx’s death, according to online court records reviewed by The Associated Press.
Hurd also entered a guilty plea to one count of battery by a prisoner. Prosecutors dropped a second battery count in exchange for the pleas, the records show, narrowing what remains for the court to determine as the case moves toward a February hearing.
The next step for Hurd will be a February trial in which jurors are tasked with sentencing-related questions tied to a mental-illness claim. Jurors will 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, according to the AP report of the court process.
In an email to The Associated Press, Hurd’s attorney, Aaton Nelson, said the plea deal partially resolves the case after the “sad and tragic death” of Proulx and that “nothing will compensate the victims for their loss and suffering.” Nelson added, “We hope that this agreement will help all those suffering with their healing.”
Court documents described Hurd as being incarcerated at Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes School, Wisconsin’s youth prison, in June 2024. The AP report said Hurd became upset with a female counselor whom he believed was abusing her authority, threw soap at her, and punched her, setting off events that led to Proulx chasing him into the courtyard.
According to prosecutors as described by AP, Hurd punched Proulx several times, causing Proulx to fall, strike his head on the pavement, and later die. The report said Hurd was 16 at the time of the fight but was charged in adult court.
Another inmate involved in the incident, Rian Nyblom, also pleaded guilty to two counts of being a party to battery and received a five-year prison sentence in August, according to the AP report. Prosecutors said Nyblom understood Hurd was upset with the female counselor and wanted to splash her with conditioner and punch her, and that Nyblom received extra soap and conditioner from guards about 15 minutes before the fight and secretly gave it to Hurd.
The case has drawn attention beyond the courtroom because Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes has faced years of allegations of staff-on-inmate abuse, including excessive use of pepper spray, restraints, and strip searches, AP reported. 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 prohibited mechanical restraints like handcuffs and the use of pepper spray.
AP reported that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers rejected calls—made by some Republican lawmakers and by staff at the youth prison—for greater leeway in punishing incarcerated children, saying conditions had been improving. A court-appointed monitor overseeing the prison’s progress reported in October that the facility was fully compliant with the consent decree’s provisions for the first time, according to AP.
Lawmakers have also sought to close the facility and replace it with smaller regional prisons, AP said, but the new prisons were still under construction. Lincoln Hills-Copper Lakes continues to operate as the court proceedings in the Hurd case advance toward the February decision on whether mental-illness findings change the sentencing outcome.