by MOSES Publications | Nov 16, 2025 | Community Issues
Madison Justice Team Works with the Workers
Goals: To Connect, Assist, Inform
By Pam Gates
Diane Ballweg and Harry Haney, both longtime Madisonians, are the leaders of a relatively new alliance they call the Madison Justice Team. The team meets about once a quarter, to give people concerned about the criminal-legal system and those affected by it a chance to get together, share ideas, and find ways to collaborate. At the last meeting, held Sept. 29 at the UW South Madison Partnership and hosted by the Odyssey Project, over 25 people from almost that many agencies and organizations shared their efforts and hopes: everything from GED studies and employment skills for youth at Operation Fresh Start to a progress report on improvements in the new jail to hopes for the arts as vehicles of healing for those incarcerated – or those in danger of it.
How did the Madison Justice Team get started?
“I went to Harvard,” says Diane. “I won a place in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, which draws people from all over the world. At the end of the one-year program, each of us had to present a project based on how to make the world a better place. I chose the justice system and based my project on two principles: (1) People can’t act on what they don’t know, and (2) Don’t start yet another nonprofit; rather, bring agencies together.
“I met Harry through Edgewood High School, where I have taught for many years,” Diane continued. “He is the current Board chair at the high school and does the communication work for the Madison Justice Team.”
Both Harry and Diane are very active on boards throughout the Madison area. Diane has worked with Porchlight for years, for example, and says she’s on or has been on “about 20” boards. The two pull agency representatives together in small or large groups, and they also meet quarterly with some of the big players: Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, Dane County Executive Melissa Agard, a small group from the Department of Corrections, Gov. Evers’ staff. Even these folks are bound by government rules, regulations, and laws, Diane says, and can’t necessarily act as freely as they might personally like to.
Harry has a business background. When he worked at Loyola University in Chicago, he heard a talk on second-chance hiring from a business perspective. The concept, he says, makes both people sense and business sense. His work with Diane and the Madison Justice Team, he says, has been a great experience. “I’ve learned a lot; it’s made me think a lot about how we do things as a society.”
“’No’ doesn’t open any doors,” Diane added.
Madison Justice Team’s purpose
“Our purpose is to be collaborators and connectors,” Diane said. “We’re not competing for clients or funding. Our team helps to bring folks together.”
“At our first meeting, there were about 35 people,” Harry recalled. “Now we have 150 on the mailing list, from 70-plus organizations. Let’s all get connected and learn from each other.”
They cited their recent meeting with local activist Corey Marionneaux, founder and CEO of the Black Men Coalition of Dane County, who is currently making a movie about his life. “We’ll promote it,” Diane says, clarifying how the team fits into the work of its membership. In another story about bringing people together, both mentioned connecting Corey with an agency that needed to move materials but had no way to do it. Black Men Coalition projects didn’t need their vans during the middle of the day, and Corey was happy to help the agency move its materials.
“Our stories could go on and on,” Diane says. “There are a lot of good people doing a lot of good things. I wish we could have the government step in. But there are little things that we can do. You [entities such as MOSES] are the experts; tell us what you need.”
Suggestions for MOSES
I commented that MOSES, an organization of congregations addressing policy, struggles to draw the congregational memberships into its work. Diane suggested that each week one congregation write letters to the editor on selected topics. Write to legislators as well, she said – they track how many letters they get, and on which topics. MOSES could create a simple form on a topic, which individuals in congregations could easily plug into, and Harry and Diane would push it out to the Madison Justice Team mailing list as well.
A current example of a local topic, one that addresses prevention, is funding for public school guidance counselors. Madison Public Schools have one guidance counselor for every 380 students! A struggling student will be hard pressed to find meaningful help in this situation. And we in MOSES know of many, many more situations that need to be rectified.
Thank you, Diane, for this suggestion. It may be a way to mobilize our congregations, who are concerned but busy with many other matters. And thanks to you and Harry for creating the Madison Justice Team!
by MOSES Publications | Nov 16, 2025 | Newsletter, Organizer
Organizer’s Corner: James Morgan Interview by Margaret Irwin
Journey to Justice Bus Tour James and other MOSES members handed out flyers on the Capitol Square on Oct. 11; several people who took flyers came to the event on Oct. 12. “Fantastic” was the term James used to describe the exhibits on the bus (see p. X for a further report). He deemed the event, including the two panel discussions, “an eye-opening experience for everyone.” Reps. Darrin Madison and Ryan Clancy, as well as gubernatorial candidates Rep. Francesca Hong and Sen. Kelda Roys, were among the panelists.
MOSES Gala Nov. 22 This year MOSES will be celebrating one honoree, who will share an inspirational story of transformation. At the Gala, we will also be recognizing JustDane, an organization that contributes to the well-being of formerly incarcerated people, their families, and the Dane County community. In addition, we will be honoring one of MOSES’s past presidents.
Community Forum James has been talking to individuals and other organizations about sponsoring a community forum in the early spring regarding education, voting, health care, and incarceration. Hopefully, this roundtable discussion will lead to action steps to improve life in our community. One state legislator has already agreed to participate.
Indigenous People’s Day/Rights of Nature Bill at the State Capitol James represented MOSES at this Oct. 13 celebration. He recruited Art Shegonee to give the opening blessing at the ceremony. He was touched to be able to offer a pouch of tobacco to Shegonee, a member of the Menominee and Potowatomi tribes, as a sign of respect to an elder. During the event, legislation was proposed regarding the rights of nature – how we engage and protect the air, land, water, and trees in our state.
New MOSES Office The new office, which is located in The Crossing, 1127 University Ave., Room 218, is officially open. James plans to be there Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. He welcomes people to stop in for conversation and to see the new space. Please phone ahead to make sure he’s actually in the office. “It’s not my office, it’s our space,” he says.
James looks forward to working with Michael Burch, director of The Crossing Campus Ministry, in engaging with students. He recently had dinner with some of them and enjoyed their curiosity and willingness to discuss justice issues.
Motivation Someone asked James why he is a part of MOSES. He responded: “I believe in the work people have done in MOSES. I am in awe of how it has grown and dealt in a dignified and respectful manner with challenges that have come its way. MOSES is willing to ask the vital questions of officials in the fields of policing, incarceration, housing, and education.”
“MOSES would not exist and operate without the participation of every single volunteer, going back to its founding,” he added.
James urges us to develop an overall sense of the organization. We are prone to focus on the one area where we volunteer, but we need to know what people in other areas are doing, as well. Being able to tell others about the breadth of our work is important for community recognition and for growth of our organization.
“Let’s continue to embrace and invest in one another and in the community,” James says. “This will help bridge the economic, racial, and gender divides that certain powers are seeking to deepen. We’re not only setting a direction for others to follow; we’re establishing a legacy that will continue for decades.”
Let’s Do MOSES!
by MOSES Publications | Nov 16, 2025 | JPTF Justice & Police TF, Newsletter, Policing
MOSES’s New Justice and Policing Task Force
By Doug Maynard
As many MOSES members know, a new task force — the Justice and Policing Task Force (JPTF) — has been brewing for many months. It was envisioned as a more focused replacement for the previous Public Safety Task Force. The MOSES Leadership Board approved the new task force this past July; we now have eight active members, and we welcome others who are interested. See below for the dates and place of our next meetings.
Once we were given the green light, the new task force had urgent business to attend to. One of our stated aims is to pay attention to and support Madison’s Police Civilian Oversight Board and the associated Office of the Independent Monitor. As we immediately learned, there was turmoil and controversy surrounding both the Oversight Board and the Independent Monitor. In fact, the funding of both entities was threatened in the lead-up to budget deliberations.
In response, our task force crafted a letter for MOSES President Saundra Brown to send to the Mayor, in support of including both the Oversight Board and the Independent Monitor in the 2026 Executive Operating Budget. The first step was to obtain what turned out to be unanimous approval from the MOSES Leadership Board for an Urgent Issue Proposal in support of the Oversight Board and the Independent Monitor. That unanimous approval was mentioned prominently in the letter that our President sent; the letter also included statements about how and why MOSES supports continued funding for these entities.
When the Mayor’s budget was published on Oct. 7, we were glad to learn that it included full funding for the Office of the Independent Monitor. The budget for that office was even slightly increased over last year’s. After the Mayor’s Executive Budget was published, a slightly revised version of Saundra Brown’s letter was sent to Madison alders on Oct. 9. In addition, a call to action went out to all MOSES members, urging them to contact their alders before the Finance Committee hearing on Oct. 13 to support this funding.
Final budget deliberations by the full Common Council will take place in mid-November. Members of our task force will submit public testimony to both the Finance Committee and the Common Council.
In connection with all these matters, the Justice and Policing Task Force has invited the Chair of the Civilian Oversight Board, Maia Pearson, to meet with us to discuss the challenges the Board is currently facing, and whether or how our task force and MOSES can help. That meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 6, 3:30 p.m. at the UW South Madison Partnership office.
The next regular meeting of the Justice and Policing Task Force is set for Monday, Nov. 24, at 3:30 p.m. at the same location. We have other matters to consider, including discussion about our new Police Chief and how to engage and support him. Please think about joining us!
by MOSES Publications | Nov 16, 2025 | Advocacy, Criminal Legal System, Dane County Jail, JSRI Justice System Reform Initiatives, Newsletter
MOSES Helps Create a Win for Jail Residents
By Sister Fran Hoffman
Throughout the summer of 2025, the MOSES Justice System Reform Initiative (MJSRI) continued to follow Dane County committee meetings. During the Public Protection and Judiciary (PP&J) Committee meetings, MJSRI learned that Sheriff Barrett was proposing a contract with Smart Communications, a for-profit telecom company, to undertake scanning of jail residents’ mail along with its paid options for telephone, video-calling, and tablet services. The Sheriff’s reason for initiating mail scanning was fear that drugs might enter the jail via residents’ mail in the form of drug-soaked paper; he needed to prevent overdoses and possible deaths. The journey to a win for jail residents took several steps.
After listening to PP&J supervisors discuss mail scanning and weighing forceful comments from the public, MJSRI knew we needed more information about the proposed contract and about current jail procedures for dealing with suspicious mail.
So MJSRI met with several supervisors. This led us to Dave Peterson, an IT professional who had familiarized himself with the contract. MJSRI saw a dehumanizing element present here, since jail residents were to be deprived of their original mail and have it replaced by a digitized copy arriving late from an off-site facility, whose quality of reproduction could not be guaranteed. Peterson also raised the issue of residents’ privacy. In this process of discovery, MJSRI learned that there were also questions of trustworthiness about Smart Communications as a for-profit company. Meanwhile, the PP&J voted to recommend denial of the contract with Smart Communications.
Next, the contract was to be discussed before the Personnel and Finance Committee (P&F). I was asked to represent MOSES by making a public comment at the P&F meeting. Other speakers from the public agreed with MJSRI’s recommendation. Here as well, P&F voted to deny the contract.
At the Sept. 4 meeting of the full County Board, the Smart Communications contract was on the agenda. I had begun reviewing articles from Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), so when our task force asked me to again give public comments at the County Board meeting, I was prepared. I said that several articles in PPI had argued that there is no solid evidence that mail scanning reduces drugs in the jail. PPI recommends the availability of medically assisted treatment (MAT) for drug overdoses in a few instances, rather than cutting off a lifeline of communication for all residents and their families.
MOSES joined other advocates in affirming that physical mail carries “good feeling” value for residents, which translates into a more hopeful experience behind bars. MJSRI emphasized that taking away the ability to touch a letter or artwork has real, measurable consequences for mental health, behavior, and even recidivism after release. Residents can return to their mail repeatedly to be reminded of their support network. Scanning mail, on the other hand, causes it to arrive later than the original would; it disrupts correspondence with family, nonprofits, education programs, and ministries. And because scanned mail is often low-quality or incomplete, it lacks the same meaning.
MJSRI planned to target residents’ privacy, an important issue that is not sufficiently protected by the contract. The ownership of information about jail residents or about each of the people who are interacting with residents is not addressed. Section IX of the contract does not restrict the use or sale of raw data or metadata from the telephone/tablet system.
To the surprise of many interested people, on Sept. 4, word came prior to the County Board meeting that Sheriff Barrett was dropping the mail-scanning portion from the Smart Communications contract. This was welcome news. I had registered to present the MJSRI position, so I reasserted our two main points: that Smart Communications policies are exploitative and that they do not protect residents’ privacy. As a for-profit telecom company, “Smart Communications makes it harder for poor people to connect with their support systems, while using these residents as revenue streams.”
Once again I was heartened by the other 16 public speakers and those supervisors whose concerns shone light on the inhumanity of the criminal-legal system. Their statements sought to prevent additional harm to jail residents.
One of the supervisors recommended allowing more time to examine the contract without the mail-scanning component and to consider possible alternatives. Some supervisors suggested extending the County’s existing jail communications contract with ViaPath Technologies for an additional year. (ViaPath had never set up the mail-scanning portion of their services.) The extension would allow time to work toward providing a free communication service, in which the County, rather than jail residents or their families, would pay for services. This seemed to MOSES and to many other advocates to be a positive solution.
In the vote that took place on Sept. 18, 31 supervisors voted against the Smart Communication contract. Only five voted for it. This was a major win for jail residents!
by MOSES Publications | Nov 16, 2025 | Criminal Legal System, Events, Newsletter, Prisons, WISDOM Conditions of Confinement
Journey to Justice Bus Tour
By Pam Gates
On Oct. 12, midway through its 11-state journey across the United States, a huge Journey to Justice bus, full of displays about the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and jails, stopped for a few hours at the Madison Christian Community. About 100 people showed up to experience the exhibits inside the bus; especially vivid was a recording of journalist John Oliver speaking on U.S. incarceration of juveniles.
MOSES’s own Talib Akbar was there with his solitary confinement truck. Visitors could get a tiny glimpse of what solitary is really like – crude, degrading punishment – by spending time in the cell he carries in his truck.
Two panels addressed incarceration in Wisconsin, particularly solitary confinement. One panel featured several local politicians, plus activists personally acquainted with solitary confinement. The other addressed the system’s effects on women; the panelists were leaders of FREE, a movement that addresses women’s needs during and after incarceration.
“Solitary locks a person inside their own mind,” said JenAnn, whose lived experience bolsters her nonstop activism for system reform. “It’s not a tool, but a wound to inflict on people–and then blame them for bleeding… Solitary … can be imposed for minor rule violations, on people struggling with trauma … Women survive through contact, through relationships … Imagine your kids growing up without you,” she added, noting another hardship incarceration inflicts more harshly on women – and on their kids.
“Trauma, addiction, and criminal mentality and behavior are never addressed,” another panelist said. “I … rehabilitated myself … all the system does is piss people off and make them angry.”
Panelist Megan’s mentally ill dad was often denied his medications in prison; he ultimately committed suicide in solitary in 2023. People in solitary cost the state 2-3 times more than the general prison population, Megan said, but solitary doesn’t help heal them … We pour money into a system that tortures people and costs taxpayers millions of dollars.
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC)’s budget is the second-largest in the state.
“We’re locking up far too many in Wisconsin,” said Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, who takes time to visit state institutions and talk with the people confined there, not just with the staff. When he asks prisoners what they would change about the system, he often hears: “I want to be better when I leave here than when I came.” Clancy said we need to ban solitary outright or create better conditions and programming for people held there. “We need to look at those incarcerated as true members of our community!” Rep. Darrin Madison, D-Milwaukee, declared.
“We’re misallocating resources,” said Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison. “We need to invest in human potential … to orient toward job training, education, and mental health. Truth-in-sentencing has made prisons less safe.” As for the long periods of supervision most live with after release, she said: “The system’s attitude is ‘Gotcha!’ not ‘How can I help?’ We’ve traded actual public safety for the aesthetic of ‘tough on crime.”
Rep. Madison said we need to end mandatory minimums, reduce many sentences, and offer clemency. People are returning to the community worse than when they went in, he said; we need a total overhaul of the criminal-legal system. We’re failing everyone who believes in and wants public safety. Even Republicans understand how inappropriate juvenile life-without-parole sentences are.
“Our prisons are not understaffed; they’re overpopulated!” Clancy said, adding that finding housing after prison would help returnees a lot. “How are we investing?” he asked.
FREE panel: Julie Bliefnick, Jessica Jacobs, Yolanda Perkins
Each of these women were directly affected by Wisconsin’s carceral system. Each recalled the pain and/or degradation of watching mistreatment of others or directly experiencing it. “I still suffer the effects, though it was over eight years ago,” Jessica said. “I have PTSD; incarceration made it worse.”
How did incarceration affect your families?
“My mom hasn’t been incarcerated in 20 years, but the experience still affects her communication with family, Yolanda said..” She’s still afraid to be in a room alone … I was a ward of the state. I ran away from unsafe foster homes … I still remember us having to go get my newborn baby brother from prison. We were called and told to come pick up Number [XXX].” (One of FREE’s goals is changing the policy of immediately separating moms and newborns.)
When you’re under medical observation in jail, Julie said, you can’t call anyone, and no one informs your family. “I missed visits with my son due to these policies,” she recalled. “There’s long-term trauma with parental incarceration. We need to insist on communication between parents and children; that continuing bond is so necessary.”
Another of FREE’s efforts is the Doula Project at Taycheedah Correctional Institution for Women (TCI).The project’s goals include prohibiting solitary for pregnant or postpartum women, plus continuing every positive program for them. The panelists said the DOC has responded positively and praised TCI’s Doula Program. Women can’t stay with their babies yet, Yolanda said, but there is good programming for new moms – except that, if they complain about depression, they get sent to solitary!
To an audience question on mental health services for prisoners and former prisoners, Julie said, “We [FREE] offer Circles of Support, but we’re not licensed therapists. Trauma is the biggest problem. There are two psychologists at TCI for 600 people. There are also social workers at the prisons; I’m not sure how useful they are.”
“Plenty of county jails still shackle pregnant women,” Jessica said, raising an issue that MOSES has addressed and helped win a policy change. “The DOC doesn’t, anymore. There needs to be a policy across the state. Forced inducements still happen; we’re pushing to end those.”
WISDOM leader David Morrell gave a closing shout-out to the audience: Call your elected officials and tell them to support a list of 17 bills introduced in 2023 that address conditions of confinement.
