Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity
for Criminal Legal System Reform

News and Commentary

This page displays timely announcements, news reports, and articles written by MOSES members previously published in our newsletters, yearbook, or venues. Signed articles offer information and interpretations to support advocacy, but are not official MOSES positions. Links to official MOSES position statements may be found on this page.  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.

Member Spotlight: Rachel Kincade

by | May 2, 2026 | ,

In 2007, Rachel Kincade received a Virginia McKnight Binger Award in Human Service. The following piece from the McKnight Foundation website describes Rachel’s work in Duluth, Minn., before she moved to Madison.   Sixteen years ago, single mother Rachel Kincade began her outreach to homeless youth with special needs. As the executive director of Life House in Duluth, Rachel now serves 700 low-income and homeless youth annually, ensuring them access to housing, education, and employment...

Review of The Belly of the Beast

by | Apr 24, 2026 | ,

The Belly of the Beast: The Campaign to End Forced Sterilization of Women Prisoners in California A film by Erika Cohn Reviewed by Pam Gates   At its January meeting, the local chapter of FREE – a movement of women whose lives have been affected by incarceration – showed a documentary that exposed a glaring overstep in state control of prisoners’ autonomy: forced sterilization. Women brought to the hospital for gynecological treatment might end up sterilized as well – without their knowledge...

Review of Nice Racism

by | Apr 24, 2026 | , , ,

Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm By Robin DiAngelo, 2021, Beacon Press Books Reviewed by Ken Warren    This book is a follow-up to Robin DiAngelo’s earlier book, White Fragility. In White Fragility, DiAngelo focused on white people in general. In this book she turns her attention specifically to white progressives. As the membership of Moses could easily be considered progressive and is also overwhelmingly white, this is a perfect book for us to read and...

Lunch and Learn May 20: Judge Mitchell on Juvenile Justice

by | Apr 16, 2026 | ,

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 | Mar 12, 2026 |

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 | Mar 12, 2026 | , , , , , , , , ,

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 | Mar 12, 2026 | ,

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 | Mar 12, 2026 |

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 | Mar 12, 2026 | , , ,

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 | Mar 12, 2026 | , , ,

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...