Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity
for Criminal Legal System Reform
Nearly 1,000 people of faith from across Wisconsin will gather at the state capitol to advocate for criminal justice reform to be reflected in the proposed state budget.
8–9am
Breakfast (including special breakfast for religious leaders) and networking.
9am–4pm
Breakout sessions, lunch, march around the Capitol, press conference, and meetings with state representatives.
Cost: $25 (includes light breakfast and lunch)
Officials at Marquette University and at WISDOM, a statewide group of faith leaders and activists, are joining together to educate the public about solitary confinement in Wisconsin.
Imagine being locked up in a room the size of a bathroom for 23 hours a day with no access to the outside world except mail and prison guards.
This is the life of someone in solitary confinement. This week, Marquette University’s Campus Ministry and a faith-based organization known as “WISDOM” are bringing attention to this subject.
An exact replica of what life is like on the inside is now on display in the lobby of the school’s library.
Program organizers want to point out, in their opinion, how inhumane and unjust this type of incarceration can be if it goes beyond a period of 15 days.
We did reach out to the Department of Corrections for a comment. It says the department “has been working on restrictive housing reform for several years, which has included adding programming and psychological staff. The Department remains focused on our mission of protecting the public, our staff and those in our charge.”
The solitary prison cell replica will be on display through Friday. If you want to spend 45 minutes alone in the confined area, you can call 414-841-2762 to reserve a space.Marquette and WISDOM will convene a public forum on ending mass incarceration from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, at Marquette Hall. This is located on the 1100 block of W. Wisconsin Ave., next to Gesu Church.
11X15 News updates
A 2008 Legislative Audit Bureau report shows higher rates of recidivism among younger offenders placed into the adult correctional system. Recidivism rates among 17-year-old defendants in Wisconsin are estimated to be as high as 48 percent, three times higher than for adult offenders or younger juveniles in the juvenile system. The Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council requested an analysis of the juvenile justice process in Wisconsin and examination of current practices in other states. This report evaluates the status quo policy and two categories of alternative policies: waiver laws and blended sentencing. For a 2008 study: Treatment of Juveniles in the WI Criminal Court System: An Analysis of Potential Alternatives prepared for the Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council by the La Follette School of Public Affairs…click here
“Active participation by a Sentencing Commission is an essential element of effective guidelines,” according to a recent research report Assessing Consistency and Fairness in Sentencing (National Center for State Courts, 2008). The report is based on a comparative inquiry into how sentencing guidelines shape who is sentenced to prison and for what length of time. A key finding of the study is that Commissions play a critical role in designing guidelines, assessing whether guidelines are working as intended, and identifying how needed adjustments might best be made A 2008 comparative study of sentencing guidelines by National Center for State Courts (NCSC) click here…
The fear, anxiety and memory loss are some of the symptoms commonly found among people kept in extreme isolation. They lie at the heart of a policy and scientific debate that was renewed this summer after prisoners statewide went on a hunger strike to protest conditions in high-security lockups. State legislators have begun to question whether a system primarily designed to isolate gang members is standing in the way of rehabilitation. For a sense of the enduring impact of prison isolation see this November 8, 2013 LA Times article: Prison isolation
In February, a group of American corrections officials, judges, prosecutors and public defenders spent a week visiting prisons in Germany and the Netherlands. Those countries incarcerate people at about one-tenth the rate of the United States, for far less time, and under conditions geared toward social reintegration rather than punishment alone. US incarcerates more…
A letter to the editor about the challenges facing ‘offenders’ seeking housing “Offender” stigma for would-be renters