A group of Republican lawmakers released a list of criminal justice reform initiatives Monday they want Gov. Tony Evers to include in his upcoming budget address.
While the list attempts to create bipartisan work with Gov. Evers, there are still disagreements in terms of the extent to which the criminal justice system will change.
“Cutting our state’s prison population in half — a goal of Gov. Evers — would mean putting violent criminals back into our community,” said Rep. John Macco, R-Ledgeview. “Our criminal justice initiatives address the same concerns, while still keeping our Wisconsin families safe.”
The list included access to a quicker and fairer trial, expansion of programs that help offenders suffering from alcohol or drug addiction, investment into retraining correctional officer and promoted transitioning those incarcerated back into society.
“We need to set [prisoners] up for success when they finish serving their time,” Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said in a press release. “Our initiatives will put resources into helping them transition back into life as a contributing member of society.”
Although it is clear the Republicans still expect all prisoners to serve their entire sentence, it appears that both parties agree on the fact that the Wisconsin government needs to focus efforts on the reinstitution of prisoners back into society.
A Marquette Law School Poll showed voters are split on their opinions regarding criminal justice legislation.
It asked participants if they agree or disagree that once a prisoner has served either half or two-thirds of their sentence, they should be released from prison into a less expensive form of punishment if they are proven to no longer be a threat to society.
The results of the poll showed 42 percent of voters agree with early release after half of the sentence has been served, while 43 percent of voters opposed the idea. When asked their thoughts on early release after two-thirds of a sentence has been served, 51 percent of voters agreed while 34 percent opposed.
With Gov. Evers’ budget address deadline coming up, the entire state is looking to see what they should expect.
Evers is expected to propose a lot of change to Wisconsin’s criminal justice system. On Feb. 13, he announced he would consider pardoning felons who submitted applications for clemency to the Pardon Advisory Board, something former Gov. Scott Walker never did.
Pardons refer to a leniency given to criminals; they can take the form of a reduced sentence or some of the restrictions of the conviction being lifted, such as someone’s right to vote.
In past years, other governors have given some felons clemency, but Gov. Evers’ goals are believed to expand beyond a few hundred pardons.
Although backlash is still expected from the majority Republican legislature to several of Evers’ budgetary plans, it is looking like there may be some common ground when it comes to criminal justice reform.
“The governor has said all along that criminal justice reform is an area where Democrats and Republicans should be able to work together,” Gov. Evers’ Deputy Communications Director Britt Cudaback said. “We look forward to working with criminal justice reform advocates and legislators on both sides of the aisle to get this done in the governor’s budget.”
Although Wisconsin was not exposed to pardons in the eight years Walker was in office, a statement from northeast Republican lawmakers anticipates there will be at least some change in the way of Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.
state news writer
