Giving Compass' Take:
- Nicholas Garton and Jim Malewitz report on how Wisconsin's prison population continues to increase as other states make efforts to close prisons.
- What is the role of donors in preventing harm to incarcerated people resulting from crowding in prisons? What systemic factors contribute to crowding?
- Learn more about key issues in criminal justice and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on criminal justice in your area.
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Wisconsin’s prison population has swelled since a pandemic dip, complicating efforts to address dangerous conditions that were highlighted in June when prosecutors criminally charged nine Waupun Correctional Institution workers, including the former warden, following multiple prisoner deaths.
The state’s adult institutions were locking up nearly 22,800 people as of Aug. 9. That’s more than 5,000 above the design capacity of Wisconsin’s prisons and more than 3,000 above levels three years ago when COVID-19 actions shrunk prisoner ranks to a 20-year low.
If the growth persists at this rate, Gov. Tony Evers’ administration could oversee more prisoners within a year than it inherited when Evers succeeded Scott Walker in early 2019.
Wisconsin's Prison Population Is Growing — Crime Rates Are Not
The trend does not correspond with an increase in reported crime. Statewide offenses reported to the Wisconsin Department of Justice were up in 2021 but declined in 2022 and 2023.
The prison population increase comes years after Evers vowed to ease crowding in a state that stands out nationally for disproportionately imprisoning Black residents. In a 2018 Democratic gubernatorial debate, Evers — who has spoken of “second chances” and “redemption” — called a goal by activists to cut Wisconsin’s prison population by half “worth accomplishing.”
The latest trend highlights the challenge of doing so a quarter century after Wisconsin enacted one of the country’s most punitive sentencing laws.
The prison problem spans policy and politics. Evers, a Democrat, contends with a Legislature led by Republicans who seek to paint Democrats as soft on crime. Meanwhile, some Democrats say Evers has done too little to wield his own powers to reduce the crowding plaguing Wisconsin's prison population.
“I’m hoping he honors the promises he made on the campaign trail,” said state Rep. Darrin Madison, D-Milwaukee. “Because right now that promise is not being fulfilled the way voters thought.”
Experts note that the governor has limited control over the size of Wisconsin's prison population.
Changes such as shrinking maximum sentences, reducing imposed sentences or diverting more people to treatment would require action by judges or the Legislature.
Read the full article about crowding in Wisconsin prisons by Nicholas Garton and Jim Malewitz at Wisconsin Watch.