CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Governor Tony Evers campaigned on reducing the state’s prison population by half in 2016. Lieutenant Governor Mandella Barnes describes prison reform as a “sexy” topic.
I’m open to prison reform, within reasonable guidelines. Non-violent offenders or those who are too old or too sick to pose a risk to the public should be released. People who are in jail for drug offenses should be looked upon as addicts in need of treatment, not criminals who need punishment.
The problem with cutting the prison population in half is that very few of those types of inmates are still incarcerated. Prosecutors and judges know that locking someone up is expensive, and sometimes they come out of jail worse than when they went in. So most of the people in jail are violent and are a risk to the rest of us. If the goal is half of current inmates are going to be released, you’re going to be releasing some unsavory characters. Tony Evers has already reduced the jail population by 15-percent, and has issued more than 600 pardons. And already we are releasing convicted rapists and murderers. The list of unsavory characters who are getting a break is disturbing; among them a man who decapitated his wife, who now lives in Hatley, a man who raped a 15-year-old Amish girl, and a child molester who lives near an unlicensed daycare.
Remember, the purpose of incarceration is to rehabilitate, to punish, and to protect the public. The more we hear about the people being being freed, the more it’s clear that many of them are dangerous. It’s clear to me that the non-violent have already been released. Those who remain behind bars are exactly where they belong.
Chris Conley
Comments