Transforming Wisconsin's Criminal Justice System: Now is the Time!

1. “The time is always right to do what is right”- MLK NOW is the time to Transform our Criminal Justice System NOW is the time to ROC Wisconsin Restoring Our Communities Beyond 11X15

2. ROC Wisconsin affirms our 11X15 Campaign goals • Wisconsin still ranks worst (dead last) in the nation in terms of incarceration for African American men & Native Americans! • Wisconsinstillwastestaxpayer dollars on “corrections” that could be used to support schools, or health & human services! • In Wisconsin our leaders still lack the will to implement proven strategies to cut our prison population in half! ROC WisconsinThe Problem persists

3. The Magnitude of Wisconsin’s Problem $1.3 billion/year is spent on Department of Corrections The trend continues…as of October 2015: Wisconsin adult prison population was 22,589

4. Extreme Racial Disparity

5. The ROC Wisconsin Blueprint to End Mass Incarceration Keep People Out of Prison in the First Place… Stop sending people who don’t need to be there Provide Justice Inside Prison Walls Treat prisoners humanely, and release those who can be safely released Reduce over use of solitary confinement Keep People From Returning to Prison Stop sending people back needlessly, and help people get jobs, housing and other needed services

6. ROC Wisconsin A Five Point Solution Point One: Invest in the programs and strategies that will end the racial and economic disparities that fuel mass incarceration. • Mass incarceration is not inevitable • It has nothing to do with crime rates • It is not about partisan politics

7. Many states have significantly reduced their state prison populations without experiencing an increase in crime:New YorkNew JerseyCaliforniaTexasDelawareMichigan

8. The ROC Solution Point Two: Reduce the Wisconsin prison population to 11,000 and reduce the number of people on extended supervision. We can REDUCE the prison population by INCREASING: • Treatment Alternatives and Diversions • Healthy Reentry (quality reentry programs and reduction of revocations) • Health/Mental Care for those currently incarcerated

9. The ROC Solution Point Three: Bring awareness that people convicted of a crime are human beings and members of families.

10. The ROC Solution Point Four: Remove barriers to full participation in community lifefor formerly-incarcerated people. Intact families Good jobs Housing Transit Voting rights

11. The ROC SolutionPoint Five:Develop opportunities for people with conviction histories & their families to create change.

12. The ROC Solution EXPO EXPO (Ex-Prisoners Organizing), a group of men and women coming together to challenge the way we think about formerly incarcerated and the criminal justice system in Wisconsin. EXPO works to restore individuals and families to full participation in the life of their communities.

13. ROC Wisconsin Do the math…. 3,000 alternatives through TAD plus 2,800 potential parolees plus 4,000 fewer revocations TOTAL9,800 less people in prison / year It is both POSSIBLE and ACHIEVABLE to significantly reduce the state prison population NOW and begin to restore our communities to health, safety and wholeness…(This could save about $343 MILLION dollars!).

14. TAD – Treatment Alternatives and Diversions Keeping people out of prison Wisconsin counties provide alternatives to prison to many who need it – mostly non-violent offenders with addiction or mental health problems. TAD’s are less expensiveand more effectivethan sending people to prison. If all TAD-eligible people had access to an alternative program, 3,000 less people would go to prison each year, and 27,000 less to jail. Counties fund the majority of each TAD program. Increased state funding is needed to expand these programs statewide.

15. Update sentencing guidelines Keeping people out of Prison Prison sentences are often too long; excess time in prison does more harm than good. 17-year-olds should be tried as minors, not as adults. Changing Truth in Sentencing Policy Reforming sentencing practices would keep many people from ever going to prison.

16. Wisconsin needs to require a Community Impact Statement whenever a policy or law is changed, especially to evaluate the effect on communities of color, low-income people and people with disabilities. Consider Impact of Sentencing

17. Old Law Prisoners and Parole On January 1, 2000 the Truth in Sentencing law was put into effect, eliminating the possibility of parole to anyone coming into the prison system. Yet, in 2014 there were more than 2,800 people in prison who were eligible to be released, but a broken system has slowed the parole rate to a crawl. Releasing those eligible for parole could save as much as $95 million/year and restore many productive citizens to their families and communities.

18. Solitary Confinement Solitary Confinement is emblematic of a “Lock ‘em up and throw away the key” mindset. The UN has declared that placing any prisoner in Solitary Confinement for more than 15 days is torture. Yet, as recently as 2012 in Wisconsin… • 600 prisoners had been in solitary for 6-12 months • 79 prisoners had been in solitary for 2-5 years • 14 prisoners had been in solitary for 10+ years The work of WISDOM has been instrumental in getting the DOC to reduce the number of people in solitary confinement by 25%.

19. Compassionate Release Wisconsin law allows for elderly or seriously ill inmates to petition to be released. Unfortunately, the DOC makes little use of this provision. Elderly and seriously ill inmates no longer pose credible threats to public safety. This population is extremely expensive because they are not eligible for Medicare or other federal health benefits. Many of these prisoners have family members who are willing to care for them or nursing home facilities willing to accept them.

20. Crimeless revocations Keep people from being sent back Each year 4,000 people on parole are revoked and sent back to prison because of “technical violations” rather than because they had been convicted of a new crime. Examples of technical violations include: Accepting a job offer, or unauthorized computer/cell phone use, or crossing county lines, or missed appointments, or failed drug test, or GPS malfunctions (out of the bracelet-wearer’s control), or even an unfounded 3rd party accusation. Because of our work the state legislature passed a law calling for changes in revocations and rules of probation.

21. Transitional Jobs Keep people from being sent back Transitional jobs are subsidized; created in Wisconsin specifically to help long-term unemployed people to re-enter the workforce. In recent years, more than 4,000 people have participated in these projects, 39% of whom have had a felony conviction. About half of all participants (including those with a conviction history) secure full-time employment before the end of the six-month Transitional Job. The Transitional Jobs Program works! We need many more of them.

22. Ban the Box & Reform C-CAP Ban the Box removes prejudice and allows questions about felony histories to be discussed later in the interview process. We have had success in Madison, in Milwaukee County and in Appleton, but Ban the Box needs to be statewide and for all employers. “C-CAP” (Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program) the on-line data base needs to be reformed. • Makes it difficult to find jobs and housing • It’s often inaccurate • It never goes away

23. Be Part of the Solution • Request a presentation to your organization, congregation, group or class • Support a local ROC Wisconsin work group (ESTHER); be part of local forums; visits elected officials, etc. • Encourage people with conviction histories to get involved • Pray for our leaders, that they might have wisdom and prudence; and pray for the people of Wisconsin that we might have the courage and energy to demand important changes. • Make a donation to help pay for ROCWisconsin materials and provide scholarships for training and events

24. Stay Connected: Website: www.rocwisconsin.org Phone: 414-831-2070 E-mail: wisdomforjustice@gmail.com or esther.foxvalley@gmail.com