Wisconsin Prisons Are 5,000 People Over Capacity, Protesters Want Action Now

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Several dozen people rallied outside the Department of Corrections headquarters in Madison Wednesday, calling for an end to prison overcrowding.

More than 23,600 adults are locked up in the state’s prisons, and that number is approaching a record high.

Compared to what it was designed for, Wisconsin’s prison system is over capacity by more than 5,000 people, according to DOC figures.

Those numbers are unsustainable, said Mark Rice, an activist with the criminal justice reform group WISDOM Wisconsin.

“This crisis is creating unsafe and unstable conditions, both for people who work within the prisons and for incarcerated people,” said Rice, who used to be incarcerated.

Overcrowding is particularly acute for incarcerated women in Wisconsin. A recently released external report found that, on average, Wisconsin’s  women’s prisons were at 166 percent capacity while men’s prisons were at 130 percent capacity. That report was completed by the firm Falcon, Inc. and paid for by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

“Basic dignity is being stripped away piece by piece,” said Yolanda Perkins, who advocates for incarcerated women as the executive director of Free Movement. “Limited showers, limited movement, limited privacy.”

The Falcon report also raised concerns about solitary confinement within Wisconsin prisons, and how often it’s used on prisoners with serious mental health issues.

Among other demands, protesters on Wednesday called for the DOC to cut back on the use of solitary confinement. They also called for an independent oversight system to ensure that incarcerated people can file complaints without fear of retaliation.

Yolanda Perkins, the executive director of Free Movement, speaks outside of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections headquarters on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Sarah Lehr/WPR

In his most-recent budget proposal, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers asked for funding for a prison ombudsperson who would be tasked for investigating complaints. Republican lawmakers removed that measure, however.

Evers has repeatedly called for a reduction in Wisconsin’s prison population, but has blamed the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature for thwarting those efforts. Since Evers took office in 2018, Wisconsin’s prison population dipped during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has been climbing in the years since. Evers is not seeking reelection this November.

“We will refer you to the last four budgets proposed by Gov. Evers, much of which were rejected by the Republican-controlled Legislature,” a Department of Corrections spokesperson said in an email Wednesday. “Beyond that, you will need to ask lawmakers what their plans are to address Wisconsin’s corrections challenges and move our correctional system into the 21st Century.”

Most of the living quarters within Wisconsin prisons are not air conditioned, and extreme heat can become dangerous for people with certain medical conditions.

The protesters called for an end to what are often referred to as crimeless revocations, where someone is sent back to prison for violating the terms of their probation, parole or extended supervision rather than for committing a new crime. Violations can include things like failing a sobriety test, leaving the state without permission or failing to show up for an appointment with a DOC agent.

According to numbers provided by the DOC’s policy team, last year, close to 7,000 people saw their community supervision revoked because of a criminal offense while nearly 1,200 people were revoked solely for non-criminal violation. Those figures include people who have may have been admitted to prison after being charged with a crime, even if they were admitted before that new case concluded.

During a recent forum hosted by WISDOM, all of Wisconsin’s Democratic candidates for governor said they supported ending the practice of sending people back to prison for technical violations of their community supervision.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican running for governor did not attend the forum. He told WPR that he does not support ending revocations for technical violations.

“It’s clear that the Democrat candidates for governor will do everything in their power to protect criminals rather than victims and our communities,” Tiffany said in a statement. “If a criminal is released, they must follow the conditions of their release or face accountability.”

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

As temperatures climbed into the 90s on Wednesday, protesters sought shade under an overhang of the state office building. Despite that heat, conditions for people on the outside are still much more comfortable, compared to what people inside prisons are dealing with, said Juli Bliefnick, who was incarcerated in Wisconsin.

“I’m gonna tell you from experience, the overcrowding combined with this heat is going to gonna cause disruptions, conflict,” said Bliefnick, an activist with an Free Movement. “People are irritated. They’re uncomfortable. They’re crammed into these rooms.”

A DOC spokesperson acknowledged that facilities are not “universally air conditioned,” but said, since 2020, the agency has required that “air tempering systems be included in any new construction and added in major remodeling projects.”

DOC policy says that, when a high heat advisory is in effect, officials “may” respond by putting out fans or providing ice. The policy also warns that inmates and staff should be monitored for signs of heat-related illness.

Rally outside Wisconsin DOC calls for an end to prison overcrowding was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.