News and Commentary

This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. The main display shows all items with the most recent first. You can select particular topics, working groups, or types of information to see the articles of one type, with the most recent first. Also see the Publications & Resources page for links to whole newsletters and yearbooks as well as other resources for research.

Commutations Campaign Update

by Sherry Reames | May 3, 2026 | Advocacy, Prisons, Sentencing, WISDOM Old Law

Commutations Campaign Update, by Sherry Reames On April 3 (Good Friday) Governor Evers announced the beginning of a new commutation process that will allow some prisoners in Wisconsin to shorten the remainder of their time behind bars. To implement this process, the governor is creating a Commutation Advisory Board, and his office immediately published new application forms and requirements for two kinds of candidates: juvenile lifers (people who received life sentences as teenagers) and...

Lunch and Learn May 20: Judge Mitchell on Juvenile Justice

by Pamela Oliver | Apr 16, 2026 | Fundraisers

Support the work of MOSES and learn about juvenile justice from Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell. This Lunch and Learn event will be held on May 20 from 11:30 to 1. Lunch at 11:30 with the program beginning at 12 noon at Lake Edge Lutheran Church 4032 Monona Drive, Madison WI 53716. (Parking is behind the church, off Hegg Drive.) Judge Mitchell was elected to the Dane County Circuit Court in 2016 and serves as a juvenile court judge in Branch Four. He also hears cases involving family...

Good News In Brief

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,...

Upcoming Meetings

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....

The Voice of the Comforter: a Film by Rafael Ragland

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...

Organizer’s Corner

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,...

Juvenile Life Without Parole Legislation Left on the Table Again

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...

HUD Reveals Its Intentions for Homeless Services, and We Need to Be Prepared

by Pamela Oliver | Mar 12, 2026 | Advocacy, Calls to Action, Housing, RJAC Racial Justice for All Children

HUD Reveals Its Intentions for Homeless Services, and We Need to Be Prepared By John Lemke In November of last year, HUD released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to homeless services agencies across the country. It included drastic and detrimental changes to how HUD wants to use federal money to address the problem of homelessness. The changes were immediately challenged by lawsuits from 20 states and did not fare well. However, per the recent funding bills just passed on Feb. 3, HUD is...

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