by Pamela Oliver | Mar 12, 2026 | Life After Prison
Eric is serving a 30-year sentence for second-degree murder of an innocent bystander. While in prison, he read an article about the health hazards of drinking soda and decided to give up soda. It was the first time he had made a decision to deprive himself of something – and to stick to the decision.
This helped him realize that a major source of his life’s problems was a lack of self-discipline. His success in quitting soda convinced him that change was possible. He made other behavioral, self-disciplinary changes, like lifting weights. His new behaviors became habits, and those habits elevated his level of self-discipline and allowed him to tackle more significant changes, like quitting smoking and drugs. His continuing success led to many other positive developments, including earning an associate’s degree, working on a bachelor’s degree, obtaining paralegal certification, teaching a legal research class, and tutoring other college students.
“I can never make up for the past,” he says, “but I can try to offset it as much as possible by being the best person I can going forward. I’m getting better all the time, and I owe it all to quitting soda.”
Read the full story at https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/04/04/prison-self-discipline-quitting-soda-psychology
by Pamela Oliver | Mar 12, 2026 | JPTF Justice & Police TF, JSRI Justice System Reform Initiatives, MOSES activities, MOSES leadership, WISDOM, WISDOM Conditions of Confinement, WISDOM immigration, WISDOM Old Law, WISDOM Post Release, WISDOM Treatment and Diversions
General Membership (Hybrid)
- Sunday, Mar. 8, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Apr. 12, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, May 17, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
- Sunday, June 14, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Leadership Board (Hybrid)
- Saturday, Mar. 28, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
- Saturday, May 30, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Jul. 25, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
MOSES Task Forces (via Zoom)
- Justice System Reform Initiative (JSRI) Mar. 12, Apr. 9, May 14, June 11, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
- Racial Justice for All Children (RJAC) Mar. 17, Apr. 21, May 19, June 16, 4:30-6:00 p.m.
- Justice and Policing (JPTF) Mar. 23, Apr. 27, May 25, June 22, 3:30-5:00 p.m.
WISDOM Task Forces
- Old Law Zoom Call Mar. 14, Apr. 11, May 9, June 13, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
- Conditions of Confinement Conference Call Mar. 18, Apr. 15, May 20, June 17, 5-6 p.m.
- Post-Release Zoom Call Mar. 26, Apr. 23, May 28, June 25, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
- Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) Zoom call On pause
- Immigration Zoom Call Mar. 9, Apr. 13, May 11, June 8, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
by Pamela Oliver | Mar 12, 2026 | Life After Prison, Reviews
The Voice of the Comforter: a Film by Rafael Ragland
By Pam Gates
On Jan. 12, the Madison Justice Team screened The Voice of the Comforter at the UW South Madison Partnership space. The film’s director and producer, Rafael Ragland, was there, as well as several of the people who acted in the film. Rafael was as teary-eyed as much of his audience when the film concluded; he explained that he’d lived through most of what this moving film portrayed.
The Voice of the Comforter illustrates the incredible challenges people who have been incarcerated face upon release – challenges in housing, in employment, in relationships, in family, in the parole system. And, just when a little progress seems to have been made, everything may come crashing down again.
But the film also offers hope for dealing with all of those challenges. The lead character, the returning citizen, struggles to believe in himself but almost gives up several times. Ultimately, he does manage to pull through to a position of strength – in part because of his own determination, but also because another person – in fact, several other people – believe in him.
The film juxtaposes biblical scenes and characters with current situations, adding yet another interesting touch to this interesting film. It may be too religious for some tastes, but the character’s powerful trust and belief in a higher power are part of what ultimately pulls him through to the other end of his reentry’s roller coaster ride.
The Madison Justice Team says that Rafael and his team at So Grateful Films have made this film available through their personal streaming network, http://www.virtualvision.site. Click on this link, go to On Demand, and click on the movie title. After you see the film, the team hopes you will be moved to support the creation of these uplifting, heartfelt films. The goal of So Grateful Films is to make two movies a year, and to engage both youth and adults by providing employment and skill development in the film and arts industries.
If the team achieves its crowdfunding target for 2026, it will make the fifth consecutive year of making a positive difference in people’s lives. Donations will be gratefully accepted through the website sogratefulfilms.com, or by check to Rafael Ragland at so grateful films, 1237 Saint Albert the Great Drive, Sun Prairie, WI 53590.
by Pamela Oliver | Mar 12, 2026 | Organizer
Organizer’s Corner: James Morgan
Interview by Margaret Irwin
The new year got off to a promising start, with a meeting between MOSES leaders and a new University of Wisconsin-Madison student group: Students Against Mass Incarceration. After learning about the carceral and criminal legal system in a class, these students reached out to MOSES via our website. At the subsequent meeting, James reports, everyone was engaged in an exchange of ideas about what the students are currently doing, hopes for future initiatives, and how MOSES can support them in their work. Three students attended the MOSES February monthly meeting and were warmly welcomed. They have also met with Michael Burch, executive director of The Crossing student ministry, who offered them a stipend to help with startup costs such as printing. James is looking forward to MOSES engaging with the students through conversations, trainings, and events, all of which will increase our presence on the UW campus. He predicts a successful collaboration among Students Against Mass Incarceration, MOSES, and The Crossing. “A wonderful thing is happening!” he adds.
Within the MOSES organization, James has been working on rebuilding the fundraising team. Rachel Kincade, Pam Oliver, Doug Maynard, Mary Anglim, and Julia Slotnik have expressed interest in the team. James notes that in the difficult financial conditions that advocacy and human-services groups are now experiencing, many organizations are struggling to raise sufficient funds to do their work. MOSES needs to be creative in its efforts. He hopes the team can find ways to increase membership and donors, including long-term and sustaining donors, and other ways to engage in fund-raising activities. One such activity will be the return of the Lunch and Learn event.
In the community, James has been invited to work with the Community Justice Council of Dane County. This group is a forum for collaborative leadership among criminal-justice agencies. He will serve as a member of the subcommittee dealing with pre-trial services. James sees this as an opportunity to work with local officials, including District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and judges John Hyland and Nicholas McNamara, who serve on the Council. He believes MOSES will benefit through access to information about the workings of the criminal-legal system in Dane County and through the chance to tell county officials about our work. There may be ways to assist them in achieving the goals they have set for their committees.
James invites us to be in conversation about how to increase participation in MOSES; how to engage our congregations and build effective teams; how to consolidate membership through information sharing and recruitment. He concludes: “We’re in a unique time. Given what’s happening locally and nationally, a lot of people are looking for a place to participate. MOSES wants to be one of those places where education happens and relationships are built. Our common concerns and interests will show us we don’t have to be out here alone. We can face our challenges collectively with compassion, love, and concern for one another across divisions. We can do this because someone has given us all a rally call! We need to talk to one another, support each other, and exert our power. Voting will be a huge issue!
LET’S DO MOSES!”
by Pamela Oliver | Mar 12, 2026 | Advocacy, Juvenile Justice, Prisons, WISDOM Old Law
Juvenile Life Without Parole Legislation Left on the Table Again
By Sherry Reames
I’ve been following the work of WayJ (Wisconsin Alliance for Youth Justice) with admiration since the fall of 2021. I’ve been impressed with the systematic way they laid the groundwork for a Wisconsin law banning life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders, and by their continuing determination to get such a bill through the Legislature. I’ve been looking forward to the day when I could share the good news of their success with other members of MOSES and explain how they achieved it. But, evidently, 2026 is not the year that will happen.
WayJ’s strategy has continued to evolve. Early in their existence they joined forces with a national organization on this issue, The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. After studying model legislation and messaging that had worked in other states – over half of which have now banned juvenile life sentences – WayJ leaders found legislators to introduce bills in both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature and embarked on a lobbying campaign to persuade other legislators to sign on as sponsors. In the 2021-’22 legislative session, they started with a bipartisan team of authors and recruited two dozen more sponsors, mostly Assembly Democrats. The bills died in committee.
In 2023-’24, WayJ focused mostly on Republicans. They asked Sen. Jesse James (R) and Rep. Todd Novak (R ) to author the bills they wanted, and they focused their lobbying on conservative-learning members of key committees. WayJ’s campaign that winter included a well-attended public hearing, with powerful testimonies from former juvenile lifers who have gone on to become valuable members of society. The legislators were listening. In February 2024, the bills actually seemed to have a good chance of becoming law, but they never got a floor vote, because the Assembly called an early end to the session and members went home to campaign.
When the 2025-26 session started, WayJ went to work even faster, starting with the same Republican authors, and did even more carefully organized lobbying with key legislators. Their bills got assigned to the appropriate committees and picked up quite a few sponsors, but the public hearing expected in January or early February never even got scheduled. And then there were no more hopes for this year. On Feb. 13, Assembly leaders announced that the session was again ending early, with the last floor votes scheduled for Feb. 19.
In the coming weeks, the leaders of WayJ will be trying to figure out what went wrong this year and deciding what changes to make next time. I will keep paying attention, both because I want them to succeed and because I believe that MOSES and WISDOM can learn from their example.
