by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Advocacy, Life After Prison, WISDOM, WISDOM Post Release
Implementing Short-Term Sanctions: Notes from the July 8 DOC Hearing
By Sherry Reames
In 2014, the Wisconsin Legislature passed Act 196, directing the Department of Corrections to create a system of short-term sanctions. These sanctions were to provide alternatives to revocation (back to prison) for people on probation, parole, or extended supervision who violated a supervision rule. If properly implemented, this bipartisan measure would contribute substantially to the success and well-being of affected individuals and help to significantly reduce Wisconsin’s prison population.
But the DOC has never actually implemented this law. As Tom Gilbert of MOSES has been reminding them since 2019, genuine implementation would require them to write a set of rules that fulfill the law’s requirements to provide examples of high, medium, and low-level sanctions to “minimize the impact on the offender’s employment . . . and family” and to “reward offenders for compliance” as well as punish them for violations.
On July 8, 11 years after the legislature passed the short-term sanctions law, the DOC made a gesture toward compliance by scheduling a one-hour online public hearing on its latest proposal to deal with the issue. Thanks to publicity from WISDOM and other prison-reform groups, the hearing was lively, well-attended, and remarkably cohesive, with witness after witness explaining the flaws of the current system and the positive differences that would result from full implementation of Act 196.
Among the highlights of the hearing were personal testimonies from re-entering citizens who, despite years of compliance with the rules, still face many more years of supervision fees and never-ending stress under the current system. As Shannon Ross put it, they are never free from the knowledge that a former friend or disgruntled ex-employee can easily get them sent back to prison. Marianne Oleson pointed out that the average length of supervision in Wisconsin vastly exceeds the 3 to 5 years which experts say is enough. Other witnesses described the traumas inflicted on family members, especially children, when an individual who just needs alcohol or mental health treatment is instead reincarcerated.
Besides Tom Gilbert, who outlined the history and importance of Act 196, several other MOSES members contributed detailed suggestions for its implementation. Eric Howland explained that the current system, which relies on “short-term” jail sentences of 30 to 90 days, can destroy whatever progress returnees have made in fulfilling their basic needs for employment, housing, and a positive social network and force them to start over. Carol Rubin explained that the DOC needs to provide agents with examples of sanctions, like weekend jail time, home confinement, or participation in AODA treatment, which would not seriously damage the individual’s employment, education or training, housing, or family. Lisa Munro cited the benefits achieved by other states when they actually used rewards and incentives as well as sanctions, allowing people to earn earlier release from supervision by completing treatment or education programs or simply complying with the rules consistently.
Other expert witnesses at the hearing emphasized the urgent need to reform Wisconsin’s system of supervision. Sean Wilson from the national organization Dream.org pointed out that the current system lacks not only real short-term sanctions, but also transparency, oversight, focus on rehabilitation and successful re-entry, and guardrails to prevent overpunishment. He added that the DOC’s new proposal to outsource more supervision to private vendors would create perverse incentives to maximize private profit. Robert Thibault, from Prison Action Milwaukee, emphasized the inconsistencies in the current system, with some counties and some individual agents far more inclined than others to revoke probation for petty rule violations, and summed up by calling for a DOC and probation culture that wants people to succeed, with rules that promote rehabilitation and recovery.
The DOC is no longer accepting written public testimony on Act 196, but it is not too late to share your ideas and recommendations with your legislators and the governor’s office.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Advocacy, Newsletter, Prisons, WISDOM
“Healing Over Harm” Rally at the Governor’s Mansion on Aug. 23
By Sherry Reames
A good-sized crowd turned out for this WISDOM demonstration in front of the Governor’s Mansion in Maple Bluff on Saturday morning, Aug. 23. At least 20 members of MOSES were on hand, many of us 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!”
The current 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 pregnant women.
Fortunately, members of the press were on hand to record some of the rally’s highlights. If you missed the event itself, you should still be able to learn more about it from the coverage on Madison radio station WORT, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and on the MOSES Facebook page.
by MOSES Publications | Aug 27, 2025 | Fundraisers, MOSES activities, MOSES leadership
By MOSES President Saundra Brown
The MOSES Fundraising Team has been hard at work preparing for the upcoming MOSES Gala, which is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 22, 5:30-9 p.m. The event promises to be a celebration of resilience, community, and justice. As always, the focus of our celebration is the honoring of three formerly incarcerated individuals who are rebuilding their lives and continuing to thrive and inspire as they do so.
The four-member Fundraising Team, which meets twice monthly, has accomplished much in just eight meetings. To date, they have:
- Confirmed the Gala venue: the Goodman Community Center’s Brassworks building on Madison’s east side.
- Designed and distributed “Save the Date” flyers.
- Selected the three honorees,who are now being interviewed and filmed by the MOSES Community Organizer.
- Completed the program for the event.
- Secured two financial sponsors, with five additional sponsorships pending.
- Finalized ticket prices at $100 per person, or $750 for a table of eight.
The team has also created a task schedule to coordinate volunteer roles, to ensure that all aspects of the evening — from media outreach to on-site logistics — are covered. MOSES members are encouraged to sign up promptly for assignments, ranging from flyer distribution and social media promotion to event-day support. To check out the volunteer tasks and sign up for one, click here!
The team is also seeking donations for the Gala’s silent auction. Suggested contributions include bicycles, jewelry, themed gift baskets, artwork, tickets to an event, or a gift card for a meal at a restaurant. Donations of such items will help make the evening a success: it’s fun to see who wins the items in question! It could be you! And of course the silent auction raises funds to support MOSES’s mission.
“We’re expecting a full house,” a Fundraising Team member said. “This Gala isn’t just about raising money — it’s about lifting up stories of transformation and building stronger community ties.”
MOSES invites all members and supporters to purchase tickets, volunteer, and contribute auction items. With collective effort, the November Gala will be both a celebration and a catalyst for continued work toward justice.
For more information, to purchase tickets, to offer a sponsorship, or to donate silent auction items, please contact us via president.moses.madison@gmail.com.
by MOSES Publications | Jul 13, 2025 | Featured, Newsletter, Prisons, Reviews
By Sherry Reames and Margaret Irwin
On May 22, EXPO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing) sponsored the showing of an award-winning 2012 documentary, The Grey Area: Feminism Behind Bars, at the Urban League of Greater Madison. The film was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by MOSES Organizer James Morgan and featuring three previously incarcerated local women.
The film had its beginnings in 2009, in a small class on feminism. Student volunteers from Grinnell College taught the class; their students were a small group of women incarcerated at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women. One of those volunteer instructors, Noga Ashkenazi, who went on to become a professional writer-director in Israel, started filming during the class and put the rest of this documentary together after she graduated.
The finished documentary includes eye-opening statistics on the number of incarcerated women in the U.S., the large proportion of these women who are mothers, and the even larger proportion who had previously been victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. But the most powerful parts of the film are the personal testimonies of the small group of incarcerated women who share their life experiences in the course of the class discussions. For example, we won’t soon forget the young woman who confessed that she felt safer in prison than she had ever felt on the outside. And we have been haunted ever since by the apparently hopeless case of a very appealing juvenile lifer, now middle-aged and obviously rehabilitated, who may never get a second chance because Iowa governors don’t give commutations.
The three women on the panel that followed the film, all previously incarcerated, declared that the current system is not a system of justice, but one of retribution. They suggested ways to improve the situation, including the following:
- The Department of Corrections needs to prioritize maintaining family connections while women are incarcerated.
- The community needs to support the children of incarcerated parents.
- It’s essential to have housing available for those being released, as well as help with transportation and jobs.
A large contingent of MOSES members was on hand for this event. But if you missed it – or if you saw the film and would like to share it with your congregation or neighborhood – the website “Women Make Movies” has information about buying or streaming it for nonprofit use. There’s also a trailer on YouTube. Just don’t confuse this Grey Area with the very different podcast and 2022 movie that use the same title.
by MOSES Publications | Jul 13, 2025 | MOSES activities, Newsletter, Organizer
James Morgan, interviewed by Margaret Irwin
As Organizer, what has stood out to you since the last newsletter?
“I’m struck by the number of opportunities that are being presented to MOSES for further community-based collaborations and partnerships,” James said. “At the June General Meeting, Harry Haney spoke about the Madison Justice Team. Kina Collins, Interim Executive Director of WISDOM, spoke about plans for our statewide organization. Following those conversations, I see this as a time of opportunity for us to expand our presence in the community, build our capacity, and increase our membership. Additionally, I recently had the opportunity to engage the president of the Urban League. I will be meeting with him sometime soon to talk about a possible collaboration with MOSES. The Black Men’s Coalition has already expressed an interest in MOSES, and I will be meeting with Cory Marionneaux.”
In addition to the Juneteenth celebration, what are you looking forward to in the next couple of months?
“I am at work on two major events. We hope the November 22 Gala will have a sell-out crowd. We’re getting started early by contacting potential sponsors, considering the cost of tickets for this fund-raiser, and getting people thinking early of things to donate for the raffle. An impressive trio of honorees has been lined up. In addition, I am bringing back the practice of giving a community-impact award to a local organization.
“The National Bus Tour on Solitary Confinement will come to Madison in November. In addition to Talib’s solitary confinement truck, we’ll have the national truck present. We are arranging for several locations where people will be able to access these solitary confinement spaces. We’re also planning a video screening and a panel discussion. Mark Rice from WISDOM’s Transformational Justice Campaign is working with us. We want to have ample time to publicize this campaign, to ensure that the logistics are in place, and to recruit volunteers.”
What do you want our readers to know?
“I am invested in them, in MOSES. I take my position within the organization seriously. I am constantly thinking about and engaging with people in coming up with creative ideas to expand our presence and connections in the community at-large. We also need to increase knowledge within MOSES.
“Community organizing is fun! I meet a lot of wonderful people and also a lot of people with challenges, who simply need someone to listen to what they’re going through. I try to assure these folks they can come to us; we will do our best to reach out to public officials and to legislators to advocate for their needs and to do what’s best for everyone in the community. I would like to sponsor community listening and informational sessions to achieve this.
“Another idea in development is a MOSES-sponsored sit-down with other nonprofits, business entities, and public officials. We would have a conversation to see where we connect on issues and how we can start working collaboratively. It’s important to show that we are not in competition; we can work together to accomplish our goals. This could set a model for the greater community in how to network, how to grow, and how to advocate for themselves. If anyone has suggestions of who to invite or other ideas for implementing this idea, please let me know.”
Let’s Do MOSES!
