by MOSES Publications | Aug 30, 2024 | Advocacy, Newsletter, Support MOSES
Some Sample Questions for Legislative Candidates
Compiled by Sherry Reames
With all the seats in the Wisconsin Assembly and half the seats in the Senate coming up for election this November, many of them in more competitive new districts, we should have unusual opportunities this fall to meet with candidates and learn about their priorities. Here are some suggestions from MOSES leaders about issues you might highlight and questions you might ask.
On Education:
Question: The federal government recognizes the urgent need to support our schools, especially in this post-pandemic period, and has provided funds to the states to alleviate the burden that must otherwise be absorbed by increases to local property taxes. Unfortunately, the current Wisconsin legislature has blocked much of this money. What will you do to free up the blocked revenue sharing for our schools?
Desired answer: I would hope to hear the candidate pledge to make advocacy for revenue sharing a top priority, especially as it impacts our schools throughout the state.
On the Prison Crisis:
Question: How much do you know about the humanitarian crisis in Wisconsin prisons? And what measures are you prepared to support in order to alleviate the problems?
Desired answer: I would hope to hear that the candidate recognizes the need to reduce our prison population significantly, not just to hire more correctional officers, and that building a new prison is the wrong way to go. I would also hope to hear from them ideas about how to move the system to a more trauma-informed approach, with real emphasis on rehabilitation and preparing people to re-enter the community successfully.
More specific questions from a recent candidate forum
On solitary confinement: Background: Solitary confinement for more than 15 days is considered torture by the United Nations and a basic human-rights violation. It is especially dangerous for people who are mentally ill. (“Restrictive housing” is a new term promulgated by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Calling solitary confinement by a different name diminishes neither its cruelty nor its future consequences.)
Under Gov. Evers, the Department of Corrections (DOC) has made some reforms in the use of “restrictive housing” in Wisconsin prisons, including more consideration of people with mental illness. Between January 2019 and June 2024, the average length of confinement dropped from 40 to 27 days. However, in June 2024, 79 people classified with serious mental illness were still in “restrictive housing.”
Question: If you are elected, will you urge the Department of Corrections to immediately end the placement of people experiencing mental illness in solitary and administrative confinement and to end all use of solitary confinement for more than 15 consecutive days?
On reducing the prison population: The crisis in Wisconsin prisons is not just a staffing problem; it’s also the result of incarcerating too many people. Three logical ways to alleviate the problem are to end or greatly reduce crimeless revocations, release most of the men and women who are eligible for parole, and reform some sentencing measures that have done more harm than good.
Question: If you are elected, will you support real efforts to significantly reduce Wisconsin’s prison population?
On crimeless revocation: Background: In addition to the over 23,000 people currently incarcerated in Wisconsin, approximately 65,000 more are under community supervision. This mass supervision – which includes probation, parole, and extended supervision – is increasingly recognized as a contributor, rather than an alternative, to incarceration.
Approximately 30 percent of those released from prison are sent back into custody within three years – the majority not for committing a new crime, but for breaking a rule of supervision. This practice, known as crimeless revocation, results in approximately 3,000 Wisconsin prison admissions annually. The average time served for a crimeless revocation is 18 months, at a cost to taxpayers of almost $150 million.
Question: If you are elected, will you sponsor and/or support legislation that ends the use of incarceration for crimeless rule violations?
On Old Law/Parole/Compassionate Release: Background: Nearly 2,000 people in Wisconsin prisons are or should be eligible for parole. All of them were convicted of crimes committed before Truth in Sentencing was enacted in 1999. Prior to Truth In Sentencing, many people were given extremely long sentences by Wisconsin judges who understood that they would likely be paroled after 25 percent of their overall sentence had been served, as long as they completed their programs and were deemed rehabilitated.
Since the passage of “Truth in Sentencing,” however, relatively few of these earlier (“old law”) prisoners have been released on parole. As a result, the vast majority of them are serving much more time than the judges who originally sentenced them anticipated. All of these people have already served at least 24 years. They are now middle-aged, if not elderly. More than 400 are so low-risk that they leave the prisons every day to work unsupervised in the community. In fact, virtually all of them could probably be released without endangering public safety. Studies have found that most violent crimes are committed by very young people whose brains haven’t yet matured, and that the vast majority age out of such crimes by their late 30s or 40s.
Old law prisoners cost taxpayers more than $95 million per year. But even more important than the monetary cost is the cost in frustration and suffering, not only for the prisoners themselves, but also for their families.
Many parole-eligible people are elderly and/or seriously ill. These vulnerable prisoners should be released in every case where it is safe to send them back to their families and communities, so that they may have their loved ones nearby in their final years.
Question: If you are elected, will you call for a complete, independent review of every prisoner who is eligible for parole, with the goal of releasing all those who can be released safely? Would you want to rule out giving a second chance to those convicted of certain kinds of crimes?
On Sentencing Reform: Background: The legislature has played a pivotal role in sentencing in Wisconsin. Some legislative changes in sentencing would significantly benefit our communities.
Wisconsin has unusual criteria for the charge of “bail jumping.” In addition to missing a court appearance, persons can be charged with bail jumping for noncompliance with any of their bail conditions. These charges are subsequently used by district attorneys to pressure defendants into accepting onerous plea bargains. Recently, the Wisconsin legislature has shown some bipartisan support for reform of Wisconsin’s bail-jumping law.
In Wisconsin, when a person is revoked back to prison, the DOC ignores all “good time” spent on supervision. For example, if a person with seven years of supervision has served five years with no problems but violates a rule in year six, he must serve all seven years again when released from incarceration.
Wisconsin’s Truth In Sentencing laws include mandatory minimums for supervision, but long terms of supervision have shown no benefits to society and have serious negative consequences for both the people being supervised and their families.
Question: If you are elected, will you support sentencing-reform legislation, starting with bail jumping and supervision?
Compiled by Sherry Reames
by MOSES Publications | Aug 30, 2024 | Events, Fundraisers, Newsletter, Support MOSES
Why Is MOSES Having a Gala?
By Mary Anglim and Joan Duerst
The word gala, a festive celebration – is derived from the French word galer, which means “to have a good time, to rejoice.”
The mission of MOSES is to build collective power to dismantle the systems of mass incarceration and mass supervision and to eradicate the racial disparities in our community that contribute to them.
Why is MOSES rejoicing?
Imagine that you did something that harmed the community or someone in it, and that you were convicted of a crime and sentenced to years in prison. How would you feel? Might you try to change your ways? You might study, write letters, pray, or see how your life could be different. Not only do you not want to cause harm and sadness, but you also want to be renewed, to be helpful to friends and family.
Finally the day comes, and you are released. With the help of others, you find ways to get your life in order. You see that there are things you can do to restore your family. You even begin to reach out to other families. With your new insights, you want to find ways to make the community safe. You dream of a place where everyone will get along — a place where everyone who needs a job has one, where everyone is safe, where everyone has enough to eat and a place to live and can enjoy life! Now how do you feel?
Shall we rejoice with you? Shall we have a celebration? You are making such a great difference in a difficult time that we want to tell the whole world. We want to have a GALA!
Since 2017, MOSES has brought people together to honor and celebrate those who were incarcerated and who now are making the world a better place. One of those people had an idea: Wouldn’t it be great if there could be an occasion when we could get dressed up and meet other people who have worked to make the prison system one of compassion, one that helps people overcome the traumas of their lives, rather than a place of lifelong punishment?
Let’s all go! Let’s do MOSES! Let’s rejoice that we have helped build power to create systems that enable people to be the best they can be! Let’s celebrate that we are dismantling disparities, so that we have communities of justice, peace, and caring!
We will greet each other. We will eat great appetizers and sweets prepared by the young people trained by the Goodman Center. There might be a raffle! We will especially welcome the new awardees who have overcome the pain of incarceration and become stars in the community.
Sponsors and participants contribute to the ongoing work of MOSES. Those who can will add to the cost of their tickets, so that some folks fresh out of the carceral system can celebrate with us and dream of how they will make the world a better place.
MOSES will hold its seventh annual Gala on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, 5:30-8:30 p.m., at the Brassworks of The Goodman Center, 214 Waubesa St. Tickets are $75/person, or $65/person for two or more registering together. Save the date! Further information will be available in October.
by MOSES Publications | Apr 30, 2024 | Information, Newsletter, Support MOSES
Featuring a New MOSES Member: Middleton Community Church UCC
By Margaret Irwin
Middleton Community Church United Church of Christ (referred to hereafter as MCC) was founded in 1936 by 34 people who wanted a Sunday school for children in the area whose families were not members of the existing Lutheran or Catholic congregations. It has been known ever since as “a church home for those who do not have a home,” welcoming people from a variety of religious backgrounds.
As the church grew in numbers, it moved to a larger location in downtown Middleton; since 2005 its spacious new home is opposite the Pope Farm Conservancy at the corner of Old Sauk Road and Schewe Road. The Rev. Zayna Thomley pastors the congregation, which now numbers over 300.
MCC focuses its decisions on making a difference in our world. While planning for their new location, the congregation found a parcel of 20 acres. Although they didn’t need this much space, they bought it and then looked for a developer who was willing to build smaller, more affordable houses than those already in the neighborhood. These “cottages” plus a child-care center will eventually occupy 10 acres of the land.
MCC enjoys welcoming its neighbors for summer twilight movies on the lawn, “Trunk or Treat” for Halloween, and an Electric Vehicle and Sustainability Show, where folks can talk to owners about their EV’s, test-ride an E-bike, learn about sustainability, and enjoy music, food, and games. The church has a special relationship with the neighboring public school, serving as a safe space for the students in emergencies. It’s also involved in the Forward Garden at the Pope Farm, where food is raised for local pantries.
These activities and many others that extend MCC’s reach beyond the church walls are the responsibility of the Mission and Stewardship Board. A recent survey of MCC members revealed their interest in justice in many forms: reproductive, environmental, racial, criminal, immigration, economic, and health and welfare.
Joining MOSES was a natural for this activist church. Member Ralph Jackson has played an important role in planning for the new jail through MOSES’s Justice System Reform Initiative task force. His wife, Marie, reports she had a life-changing experience when visiting a Wisconsin prison with the Rev. Jerry Hancock. It led her to take her therapy dog for regular visits with the residents of a correctional facility in Dodge County.
The Jacksons have kept the congregation informed of MOSES’s activities as they shepherded MCC toward membership. The congregation was officially welcomed as a new member at the February MOSES general meeting. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with the committed folks at MCC.
by MOSES Publications | Mar 1, 2024 | Information, Newsletter, Support MOSES
Featuring a New MOSES Member: The Crossing!
By Margaret Irwin
Welcome to The Crossing – a new member of MOSES! A multifaith, progressive student ministry at UW-Madison, its home is a beautiful, welcoming building that has stood on University Avenue since 1917. The Crossing is affiliated with and supported by three Protestant denominations: the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and the American Baptist Church. It welcomes students of any or no religious background to cultivate friendships, deepen their spiritual lives through worship and discussion, and engage in justice advocacy and service.
Currently, three students receive stipends to lead justice work in three areas: labor rights, immigration rights, and student food insecurity. The Crossing provides 1,000 meals monthly in the form of free hot meals, lunches, and frozen meals. The meals come from leftover food that students in the dormitories didn’t purchase.
Executive Director Mike Burch came to The Crossing a year ago from Berkeley, Calif. An American Baptist minister for 30 years, Mike brings a wealth of experience as a nonprofit director, a senior pastor, and a seminary professor. Most surprisingly, at the beginning of his career, he served for a year as UW wrestling coach! Mike is passionate about reform of the criminal-legal system. Next fall, he plans to add additional stipends for student leaders in the areas of incarceration reform, housing accessibility, and racial justice.
It didn’t take Mike long to get connected with Jerry Hancock of the First Congregational United Church of Christ Prison Ministry Project, and with MOSES Organizer James Morgan. This led to The Crossing becoming a member of MOSES, in collaboration with the Prison Ministry Project. Mike is eager to get students involved in the work of MOSES. In April, Talib Akbar will set up a model solitary confinement cell on the first floor of The Crossing, so students can learn about this inhumane treatment of incarcerated people. Mike also wants students to get involved in the issues surrounding re-entry. He hopes to expand work on campus to reach out to students who have been affected by the carceral system, either personally or through family members. He says there are many more such individuals than we might suspect.
To sum up, Mike states that people need to get behind MOSES, which is in a position to have an immediate impact on the criminal-legal system. MOSES has great leadership, he says, and with more funding it will do even greater things. “Let’s get the community behind MOSES!” he concludes.
