Event aimed at providing better outcomes for victims being held at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Central Office Training Center
MADISON, Wis. – Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin is joining forces with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections for a session next week at the DOC’s Central Office Training Center in Madison to build awareness on the outcomes of victims in the criminal justice process. The groups will convene stakeholders from the criminal justice system and victim service organizations to “map” the journey of a victim through the criminal justice system – with a specific focus on post-conviction proceedings that are overseen by the DOC.
Their efforts will help improve the understanding of the path crime victims face and look for opportunities to improve victim service delivery. The objective is to empower victims by improving their access to their rights, ensuring they are easily and effectively exercised.
Attendees will be examining how the rights provided to victims under Wisconsin’s five-year-old crime victims’ rights constitutional amendment, known as Marsy’s Law, impacts the criminal justice system and correctional systems. The project will look at who victims interact with at each “touch point” of the criminal justice and post-conviction systems to better identify both positive outcomes since Marsy’s Law’s implementation in 2020 and areas in need of further progress. The exercise will incorporate examples of post‑conviction actions overseen by DOC that impact victims, such as supervision decisions, revocations, release notifications, restitution processes, and programming opportunities, helping participants clearly see how these actions affect victims and their rights in practice.
“Marsy’s Law has been an empowering force in times of turbulence for victims of crime since its ratification five years ago. But we can’t just continue without reexamining the path crime victims take and work to find ways in which we can make progress,” said Nela Kalpic, Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin State Director. “This mapping exercise, with its focus on post-conviction actions, gives us the opportunity to do this and reminds us of the importance of providing strong, meaningful rights to crime victims throughout the entire criminal justice process.”
“We hope the mapping exercise will allow all of us to better understand what crime victims experience as they interact with our agency, and to ensure we are integrating crime victims’ rights under Marsy’s Law into WI DOC practices,” said Elizabeth Lucas, Wisconsin DOC Office of Victim Services & Programs Director.
The mapping exercise will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 28 at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Central Office Training Center, 3099 East Washington Ave., Madison, Wis.
Leading the exercise will be Nela Kalpic, the State Director for Marsy’s Law in Wisconsin, and Elizabeth Lucas, Wisconsin DOC Office of Victim Services & Programs Director.
The meeting will also involve other representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, including Brooke Wald, Jay Laufenberg, and Sarah Krahn.
The DOC mapping event marks the ninth Marsy’s Law mapping exercise in Wisconsin. This is the first mapping exercise in partnership with the Department of Corrections. Previous sessions have been held in Brown, Winnebago, Marathon, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Rock, Milwaukee, and Douglas Counties in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The Department of Corrections OVS is using the data gathered from this session to evaluate Marsy’s Law implementation within the correctional system and identify best practices for meaningful enforcement of victims’ rights.
Media Note: For media who wish to schedule an interview with one of the participants or receive additional information, please contact Madelyn Hughes at mh@platform-communications.com.
