Department of Corrections

State Bonding to Help Finance Alabama Prisons

Questions about Wisconsin’s Public Finance Authority and proposed private prisons blasted as a 'golden gulag.’

Evers, Advocates Discuss Justice System Reform, Legalizing Pot

Evers budget includes major reforms and legalizing medical and recreational marijuana.

Arrested at 14, Still in Jail at 40

Kenneth Gray has served 25 years for reckless homicide. Is that long enough?

AFSCME Wisconsin Statement on Governor Evers’s Veto of SB 38

State’s Incarcerated Population Drops During Pandemic

Prisons and jails have more than one-third fewer inmates.

Acting Police Chief Offers Frank Views

"I’m a Black man first,” Norman tells panel. "I will not tolerate any explicit biases."

State Must Release Sex Offender Data

Supreme Court rules for defense lawyer who argues DOC has overstated how often offenders commit future crimes.

Racine Prison Quarantines Entire Housing Unit

130 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.

Evers Proposes $45.8 Million for Milwaukee Juvenile Facility

County looks to build local facility, stop sending juveniles to Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake.

After Prison, What Next?

How to handle the formerly incarcerated. Milwaukee town hall tackles the issue.

Senator Bradley Unveils Bill to Hold Repeat Criminals Accountable

BLOC Responds to Evers’ Budget Address

48 Justice-Related Proposals by Evers

Budget plan packed with proposed changes to state system of justice.

Gov. Evers Delivers 2021-23 Biennial Budget Message

COVID-19 Infects Half of State Inmates

Five times the overall state rate; 10,786 prison inmates, 2,153 staff infected.

Should Waupun Prison Be Closed?

Two legislators say it may be time. Committee chair calls prison the "essence" of the city

State Prisons Badly Short of Staff

15% of staff positions in state unfilled, up to 40% at Waupun prison.

Republican COVID Callousness

Legislators wrong to criticize inmates getting the vaccine when prison infection rates are so high.

Evers Names 30 Equity Council Members

Governor’s Advisory Council on Equity and Inclusion appointees include leaders from nonprofits, tribes, churches, community groups.

How Thompson Is Handling Legislators

Former governor warned by Legislature not to include tuition hike in UW System budget.

High Court Upholds Gun Possession Ban for Felons

But state research used to push for this criticized in Supreme Court decision.

State Expands Eligibility for Vaccination

Proposal for next phase expands eligibility for vaccines to nearly half the population.

Disability Community Demands Better Voting Access

Current system and election laws make accessibility difficult to guarantee.

Can State Rescue Youth Corrections Plan?

Rep. Evan Goyke thinks the failure of the state's plan can lead to creative reforms.

Disputes Over Who to Give Vaccine Slow Process

State panel hashes out who should be next in line, while some say they can't wait.

State Clears Unemployment Claims Backlog

Evers promotes Amy Pechacek to secretary designee of Department of Workforce Development.

Marquette University team receives $745,000 grant for Education Preparedness Program

Wisconsin Inmate Wins Suit For Sex Reassignment Surgery

Judge says the public interest lies in "alleviating needless suffering by those who are dependent on the government for their care."

Hunger Strike Dramatizes Prisoners’ Demands

Inmates in Wisconsin’s prisons are “still fighting every day."

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Applauds Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee Approval of Chantell Jewell as House of Correction Superintendent

COVID-19 Surging in State Prisons

More than 1,700 staff and one-third of all inmates have tested positive. Loved ones struggle to get information.

Wisconsin National Guard tops 900,000 COVID-19 tests collected; testing week shortened over Thanksgiving holiday

Thousands Still Await Jobless Aid

Some 93,000 applications for pandemic aid have yet to be processed or adjudicated by state.

8% of State’s Prisoners Have COVID-19

1,703 active cases and 6,781 inmates in quarantine or isolation.

State Prison COVID Cases Up 31%

Increase of 1,033 in one week, a new record.

State Prisons Too Secretive About COVID-19

Department of Corrections took months to release numbers, still trying to hide information.

Corrections Officials Reveal COVID-19 Deaths

5 deaths in first such report; 20% of state’s prison inmates have disease.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Appoints Chantell Jewell as House of Correction Superintendent

Jewell would be the first Black Woman to lead the House of Correction

Vos Makes Appointments to Racial Disparities Task Force

This, after the speaker refused to hold a session on racial justice legislation.

Erpenbach Applauds DHS Change in Health Care Benefits Policy for Incarcerated Individuals

Long-Sought change will help those in need of substance use recovery and treatment

Wisconsin Adopts Policy that Suspends Rather than Terminates Medicaid Coverage for Incarcerated Individuals

New policy will enable Medicaid-eligible individuals leaving jail or prison to have health care coverage immediately upon release

State Prisons See Biggest Weekly Outbreak

Positive cases up 41%, by 662 cases, in one week.

12,500 Held in County Jails Could Vote

ACLU, League of Women Voters working to help these eligible state residents to vote.

40% of Kettle Moraine Inmates Have COVID-19

1,612 positive coronavirus tests in state prisons since the beginning of the pandemic.

Taylor Measure Calling for Early Release of Wisconsin Inmates Adopted by Board

State Prisons Charging Inmates for Masks

Corrections officials say inmates each got three washable masks, must pay after that.

Evers Fires Workforce Development Secretary

Sec. Caleb Frostman asked to resign over unemployment system delays.

Gov. Evers Asks for Resignation of Workforce Development Secretary

Resignation effective immediately, DOC Deputy Secretary Pechacek to lead transition

Crowley Defers Youth Corrections Grant Until State Has Sustainable Plan

County wants the state to assure enough funding to build and maintain a new facility.

COVID-19 Cases Up 70% in State Prisons

907 positive cases, up from 373 on August 21, prisons in Dodge and Racine counties have worst outbreaks.

Appeals Court Upholds Inmates’ Bodily Privacy

Prison training exercise forced women inmates to undergo strip searches.

Wisconsin National Guard continues statewide COVID-19 testing this week

COVID-19 Outbreak at Green Bay Prison

More than 250 inmates tested positive at the maximum-security prison.

Our Unjust System of Mass Supervision

Wisconsin has nation’s third highest rate of detaining people for violations of supervision.

Court Ruling Limits Expungement

Even minor violations of state corrections' supervision rules make ex-offenders ineligible.

Wisconsin National Guard continues statewide COVID-19 testing this week

After Prison Population Increase, the ACLU of Wisconsin Calls on Leadership to Reduce Incarcerated Population During Pandemic

Wisconsin National Guard continues statewide COVID-19 testing this week

Wisconsin National Guard continues statewide COVID-19 testing this week

12 Years Behind Bars, Now Released

Milwaukee DA will not retry Ladarius Marshall after federal judge finds his constitutional rights violated at age 16.

Wisconsin National Guard surpasses 250,000 specimens collected for COVID testing; statewide testing continues this week

State Was a Leader in Handling AIDS

Wisconsin less partisan and leaders had broad authority under law state Supreme Court recently overruled.

Right Wing Group Pushes Prison Reform

State can’t afford new prison, Badger Institute notes, so policymakers should look to reforms used by other states.

Prison Admissions to Rise Amid Pandemic

Pause in admissions ends this month, even as COVID-19 numbers rise.

Wisconsin National Guard surpasses 100,000 specimens collected for COVID-19 testing

213 Waupun Inmates Have COVID-19

18% of 1,181 inmates tested positive, along with 15 staff members at prison.

Wisconsin National Guard surpasses 70,000 specimens collected at mobile testing sites around the state

National Guard COVID-19 Funding at Stake

Trump considering cuts, officials in Wisconsin, other states urge him to continue funding.

All Inmates, Staff at Downtown Prison Being Tested

No confirmed cases among inmates yet, but 99 percent of tests are still pending. Seven confirmed cases among staff.

Fear of COVID-19 in State’s Crowded Prisons

Despite reductions in overall population, overcrowded prisons remain a threat to inmate safety during the pandemic.

State COVID Restrictions Continue for Prisons

Social distancing guidelines maintained for all state’s correctional institutions.

Wisconsin National Guard conducting mobile testing at sites around the state

Seeking COVID Compassion

Advocates seek clemency, reduction of state’s incarcerated population.

Activists Plead for Release of Prisoners

Worry over spread of COVID-19 in state’s prisons, lives of most vulnerable inmates.

Right-Wing Groups Linked to #ReopenWisconsin Campaign

Members of Americans for Prosperity, American Majority and John Birch Society have their hands in the campaign.

What’s Life Like Inside State’s Prisons?

Contrasting state's official description vs. inmate’s account of prison life during pandemic.

County Jails Cut Inmate Population

Eau Claire down by 49%. Sheriffs try to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks among inmates, staff.

ACLU Suit Calls for Elderly Inmates Release

State ACLU leader calls state prisons a “ticking time bomb” on COVID-19 for elderly and vulnerable.

ACLU of Wisconsin Files Lawsuit in State Supreme Court Seeking Release of Vulnerable People Amid COVID-19

An outbreak of COVID-19 in Wisconsin prisons could overwhelm available hospital beds and ICU units in communities where prisons are located

Charting the Changes in State’s Prisons

Courts grinding to a halt, 39% drop in locking up those on probation, parole.

State Prisons Seek More Protective Gear

Corrections department also releases holds on 1,148 nonviolent misdemeanor offenders to reduce spread of disease.

Wisconsin’s Incarcerated are in Danger

Activists urge action to protect incarcerated individuals during this pandemic.

Pandemic Forces State Prisons to Adapt

Evers halts admissions, DOC implements measures to minimize the risk.

We Urge Release of Aged, Infirm Inmates

Advocacy groups urge Evers, DOC to expand compassionate release during outbreak.

Do Probation Agents Need Protection?

Legislators debate bill adding penalties, possible jail time, if probation agents or their families threatened.

AG Kaul Issues Second AG Opinion

Some ‘Tougher on Crime’ Bills Passed

Gov. Evers vetoed most, but signed a few.

Federal Grant Funds New Opioid Program

County has state's highest rates of deaths and hospital visits related to opioid addiction.

Gov. Evers Acts on More Than 60 Bills

Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division Receives $1.2 Million Grant from Bureau of Justice Assistance to Reduce Offender Opioid Overdose Deaths

Funding to enhance overdose treatment and recovery programming

Evers Vetoes “Tougher on Crime” Bills

Republican bills increased some criminal penalties, would have meant more incarceration.

“Tougher On Crime” Bills Make No Sense

Sen. Jon Erpenbach blasts recent "Tougher on Crime" legislation. Argues for increased education funding.

Controversial “Tougher on Crime” Bills Pass

Two parties split over the future of criminal justice. Democrats assail GOP for "fear mongering" legislation.

GOP Underfunds Youth Corrections Plan

Republican legislators only approved funding for four out of six new youth corrections facilities.

Fight Looms Over Tough-on-Crime Bills

Republican bills would jail more people. Democrats resist, align themselves with Trump.

Q&A With Circuit Court Candidates Part Two

Blomme, Dedinsky and Whitney make their case for election to Branch 5. Part Two

Wisconsin Jail Population Rising

Rise attributed to opioid epidemic and state bail laws.