by mosesmadison | Dec 11, 2014 | Events, Resources
On Wednesday, December 10, it was standing room only in the State Capitol as WISDOM announced its blueprint for achieving the goal of cutting Wisconsin’s prison population in half (to 11,000) by 2015. YOU are a critical part of bringing this plan to reality. If you missed the event, you can watch a recording by Wisconsin Eye.
Click here to check out a presentation you can share with your friends, family, and colleagues about the 11×15 Blueprint. (Click here to download the Power Point presentation.)
You can also click here to read the detailed executive summary for more details about the approach WISDOM and its affiliates are taking to end mass incarceration in Wisconsin.
by mosesmadison | Dec 2, 2014 | Events
Wisconsin can cut its prison population in half. Actions taken in 2015 can make it happen. Learn how action by people of faith and good will can be the decisive factor.
11×15 Blueprint to End Mass Incarceration
Wednesday, December 10
10:00 am
State Capitol, Room 411S
Following the presentation, anyone interested in being part of the solution is invited to nearby First United Methodist Church for lunch and to meet in groups to work on strategies to continue to demand:
- Increased resources for Treatment Alternatives and Diversions (TAD) programs that can keep thousands of people out of prison.
- The Second Chance Act, which will keep most 17 year-olds out of adult courts
- Sentencing Reform
- Parole for more than 2,500 eligible prisoners who have been denied a fair chance for release, even after they have served the time intended by judges.
- An end to the torture that is Solitary Confinement
- “Compassionate Release” for prisoners who are elderly and/or very ill
- Alternatives to Revocation for many of the 4,000 people whose Supervision or Parole is revoked for “technical violations”
- Audit and reform of a faulty GPS Monitoring system
- Transitional Jobs opportunities for thousands of long-term unemployed Wisconsinites, including many with conviction histories
- Ban the Box legislation and reform of the CCAP on-line data base
For more information, contact David Liners at 414-736-2099, or at david.liners1@gmail.com Or, contact any local WISDOM organization.
by mosesmadison | Oct 1, 2014 | Events
A passionate group of WISDOM’s 11X15 supporters from around the state gathered at the Capitol Wednesday to protest the inhumane practice of solitary confinement. Along with pleas from MOSES’ own Rev. Jerry Hancock, Rev. Kate Edwards and President Carol Rubin, the crowd of nearly 200 people heard appalling testimony from parents whose children have endured dehumanizing torture for years at a time. The organizers and public were moved to then march on to deliver the Reform Now! brief to Governor Walker’s office. The brief calls for a private US Department of Justice investigation of the WI Department of Corrections and an immediate response in accordance with the United Nations policy that no individual is to be subject to such treatment in excess of 15 days, despite WI accounts of both juveniles and adults being confined for 23 hours a day, in some cases for up to 15 years.
Join MOSES and WISDOM in this fight by going into the makeshift solitary cell, located State Capitol steps in downtown Madison. If your congregation would like to host this structure in the future, please contact MOSES for more details. Also, see WISDOM’s 11×15 page for more coverage of the rally.
Photo credit: Bill O’Neal
by mosesmadison | Oct 1, 2014 | Events
Join WISDOM’S 11×15 Campaign on
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
12:00 Noon
The State Street Capitol Steps
Madison, Wisconsin
The international community considers any more than 15 days in Solitary Confinement to be torture. Wisconsin regularly keeps people isolated for months, and even years. WISDOM and other supporters of the 11×15 Campaign for Safer, Healthier Communities will call on Wisconsin to join other states that are finding safe, humane, effective alternatives to solitary confinement, by presenting:
- Testimonials from people who have endured solitary confinement
- Statements from faith and community leaders calling for REFORM NOW
- A LIFE-SIZE REPLICA OF A SOLITARY CONFINEMENT CELL
Show your support for ending state-sponsored torture in Wisconsin.
For more information, contact David Liners, WISDOM Exec.Dir, at 414-736-2099
by mosesmadison | Sep 19, 2014 | Resources
In Wisconsin, more than 2,800 men and women remain incarcerated, even though they are legally eligible for parole under the terms of their original sentences. Their continued incarceration costs the state more than 96 million each year. All of these inmates were sentenced prior to the enactment of the Truth In Sentencing legislation. Consequently, many were given longer sentences with the expectation that they could be released after 25 percent of their time had been served. At this point in time, many have completed their required programs, have solid release plans, have all been incarcerated for more than 25 percent of their sentence, and many even work in the community with little to no daily supervision. Still, they are continually told that their release would impose an unreasonable risk to the public and that they have not served enough time. It is time for the Governor, the Department of the Corrections, and the Parole Commission to fix this broken, ineffective, and very expensive system, allowing these men and women to return to their families and become productive members of our society.
