by MOSES Publications | Jan 20, 2026 | Events, Life After Prison, MOSES activities, Prisons, Yearbook
The number of women sent to prison has risen dramatically in recent years, both here in Wisconsin and in the nation at large; so it is increasingly important to understand how our system of incarceration tends to treat women and what the effects of that treatment are. MOSES members had some extraordinary opportunities in 2025 to learn about these issues.
Our February newsletter featured an interview with Jessica Jacobs, who survived repeated periods behind bars in her youth and is now supporting other women’s recovery as organizer of FREE in Madison, advocating for reforms in the way the system treats women, and pursuing a college degree that she hopes will enable her to teach either in an alternative high school or in prison. As Jacobs explained, her difficult youth – teen parenthood, dropping out of high school, alcohol and drug abuse, PTSD – both motivates her to work with girls who are in trouble and helps her connect with them.
In May, EXPO sponsored a showing of an award-winning 2012 documentary about women in prison, The Grey Area: Feminism Behind Bars. Besides some heart-breaking individual cases, the film included eye-opening statistics on the large proportion of incarcerated women who are mothers, and the even larger proportion who had previously been victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
In November, those who attended WISDOM’s Listening Session at the state Capitol heard powerful first-hand testimony both from Jessica Jacobs, who described the near-impossibility of finding post-release housing if one is a woman with children, and from Crystal Keller, whose daughter was sent to Taycheedah Correctional Institution when her infant was 2 months old. For the next seven months, Keller’s daughter was prevented from reuniting even briefly with her baby, despite the fact that Wisconsin has had a law on the books since 1991 that requires incarcerated mothers to be housed with their babies for the first year after birth. Obviously, the Department of Corrections is not complying with that law.
“The program was allocated $198,000 per year,” Keller said. “Where is that money? That’s $6.7 million in the 35 years they’ve never offered it.”
The extra punishments inflicted on incarcerated women were also emphasized at the Journey to Justice event in October. One panelist described the dehumanizing experience of being placed in solitary confinement during her monthly period and having the male guards refuse to allow her period supplies, a shower, or clean clothes. She also reported seeing a friend who was eight months pregnant being put in a cell and stripped naked to look for drugs as she screamed – a traumatic experience even for those just witnessing it. Other panelists described the common practice of placing women in solitary confinement immediately after they have given birth and their babies have been taken away. This practice, which the DOC calls “protective custody,” actually compounds the cruelty, because it removes these postpartum women from the comfort that other women could provide them at such a vulnerable time.
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Organizer, Yearbook
From James Morgan, Our MOSES Community Organizer
At the close of 2025, I have been reflecting on MOSES. I want to honor the steadfastness and dedication of our members in all components of our organization. I look forward to the same commitment in the coming year, focusing on sustainability and effectiveness as we continue to brand MOSES in the community. We hope to bring attention to the issues that impact the people of Wisconsin in a dignified and respectful manner. Right up front, I want to say: LET’S DO MOSES!
In the past year, we have continued our leadership in WISDOM task forces, especially the Post-Release Task Force. MOSES members played critical roles in WISDOM’s Madison Action Day in April, helping to bring our concerns to our state legislators. We also hosted the National Bus Tour on Solitary Confinement. Through tours of the bus and the model solitary confinement cell and through panel discussions, attendees learned about the many troubling aspects of this inhumane practice.
We also maintained a presence at the State Capitol. I was honored to participate in Indigenous People’s Day and in the League of Women Voters’ event regarding the 1964 Voting Rights Act.. MOSES members also testified at the hearing on proposed legislation to join 17 other states in demanding Medicare and Medicaid funding for incarcerated people who are in need of treatment for opioid and other addictions. So often I appear at the Capitol in opposition to proposed legislation; in this case, it was a pleasure to be able to thank the sponsors for their efforts. The November 12 Listening Session for legislators regarding key WISDOM issues is still being talked about.
MOSES organized a well-attended rally prior to county budget hearings and then testified in support of retaining funding for agencies that provide services for people struggling with housing and employment.
Looking forward with MOSES, I hope to meet regularly with three to five people on a renewed fund-raising team, so that we can have adequate financial resources for our work. I hope that increased funding will allow us to hire a part-time organizer to help me with the work and to be ready to step in if necessary. Under our new leadership structure, I look forward to continued collaboration with our president, Saundra Brown, as well as with president-elect Paul Saeman.
We all know the importance of building relationships to increase people power in MOSES. I would enjoy sitting down with you to share my motivation and dedication to our work and to learn about yours. Feel free to contact me! To help MOSES grow, we need to take advantage of potential resources we have right in our congregations – knowledgeable people we haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet and educate about MOSES’s issues.
I believe the ability to reflect is divine. And so I ask: What will this organization look like in 2036, in 2046? Are we willing to invest in the generations coming behind us? Will we educate them so they have the best information possible to navigate the future? Will we give them the tools to build a society where racism doesn’t wear on our souls every day – where we’re free to see the humanity in one another? We are facing uncertain times. Be encouraged that we have the ability to build bridges that will last for a long time. We are all contributing to the legacy of MOSES through love, compassion, and strong connections with one another. I appreciate everyone who’s giving me the opportunity to be an organizer for MOSES.
LET’S DO MOSES!
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Community Issues, Events, Organizations and Alliances
Grassroots Groups Unite to Urge Governor Evers to Veto the Budget –
Unless certain critical demands are met
On May 27, just six weeks after WISDOM’s Madison Action Day at the state Capitol, members of MOSES and WISDOM joined representatives of Citizen Action of Wisconsin (one of the organizers), the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI), Northside Rising (Milwaukee), Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Network, and Planned Parenthood for an energetic day of networking and advocacy. Participants heard compelling calls to action, met with legislators and/or aides, and joined forces to demand that the Governor not sign the Republican version of the budget unless several urgent demands were met.
The principle demands: (1) Close the Green Bay Correctional Institution and build NO NEW PRISON; (2) Support special education in Wisconsin’s public schools by providing schools with a 60% reimbursement for special education costs; (3) Expand BadgerCare by accepting Medicaid, which would make it possible for 91,000 more Wisconsinites to receive healthcare coverage.
Other demands urgently expressed by some participants were: (4) Restore the $480 million for childcare costs that the Governor’s original budget included; and (5) Reject the rapidly increasing diversion of state funding from public schools to private-school vouchers.
The energy at this event was palpable. It was clear that the participants were deeply invested in the demands they were voicing – demands, in many cases, not for themselves but for other Wisconsin citizens who may be voiceless. This event could provide a blueprint for WISDOM and MOSES in the future: working together with a network of organizations that all have the same general aim of holding our elected officials accountable to the common good, particularly the needs of children and other vulnerable populations in our state – and especially while the federal safety net is collapsing.
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Criminal Legal System, Events, Prisons, WISDOM, WISDOM Conditions of Confinement, WISDOM Old Law, Yearbook
Healing Over Harm: WISDOM Affiliates and Allied Organizations Rally at Governor’s Mansion
A good-sized crowd turned out for this WISDOM-organized demonstration on August 23. At least 20 members of MOSES were on hand, many with homemade signs, joining a large contingent from MICAH in Milwaukee, representatives from other WISDOM affiliates around the state, and allies from other organizations like the ACLU and the Poor People’s Campaign. MOSES Organizer James Morgan served as emcee, introducing all the speakers and energizing the crowd with repeated chants of “Healing Over Harm! People Over Prisons!”
WISDOM president, the Rev. Kathleen Gloff, opened the program with a memorably powerful prayer, and the Rev. Michael Burch from MOSES and The Crossing closed the event on a note of hope. The speakers in between kept the intensity level high as they offered first-hand testimonies to the cruelties and injustices of Wisconsin’s incarceration system. Here’s the list of speakers and their subjects:
- JenAnn Bauer, on issues especially impacting women prisoners;
- Bobby Ayala, on his experience as an Old Law juvenile lifer;
- Megan Hoffman, whose mentally ill father died at Waupun due to medical neglect;
- Tammy Jackson, a mother poetically protesting the incarceration of her three daughters;
- Tom Gilbert, a father working against the revocation system that ensnared his son;
- Mark Rice, WISDOM Transformational Justice Coordinator, summarizing the reforms we will demand from this governor, the Legislature, and all political candidates in 2026;
- Kina Collins, WISDOM interim executive director, on why Wisconsin policies matter regionally and nationally;
- Ray Mendoza, a family member calling on other men to stand up against the shackling of incarcerated pregnant women.
by MOSES Publications | Jan 17, 2026 | Advocacy, Events, WISDOM
Madison Action Day: WISDOM Affiliates Gather to Speak to State Legislators
The 2025 edition of this biannual event on April 10 received an extra boost of energy as some 400 participants celebrated the 25th anniversary of WISDOM. The morning began with a plenary session at the Masonic Temple. This was followed by a march to the Capitol and a rally on the State Street steps, visits to legislative offices, and a wrap-up at Grace Episcopal Church, before many boarded buses to return to their homes across the state.
The morning program included short videos introducing each of the 14 affiliates. Speakers then explained the values that underlie WISDOM’s work: Radical Inclusion, Costly Reconciliation, and Living for the Seventh Generation. Entertainment was provided by a drum circle led by Talib Akbar and songs from the Raging Grannies. Speakers from MOSES at the Capitol rally included Tammy Jackson, Saundra Brown, and Shel Gross.
In the afternoon, the visitors to legislators’ offices presented demands on four key issues: (1) Close the Green Bay Correctional Institution without building another prison; (2) Give all immigrants a chance to get a driver’s license; (3) Fund our public schools fairly; and (4) Expand Badgercare. In addition, visitors had the opportunity to present other issues their affiliates were focusing on.
