Some Sample Questions for Legislative Candidates
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