MADISON – Today, Assembly Republicans passed a package of bills creating new crimes, new penalties, and new penalty enhancers on subjects ranging from police dogs to shoplifting. Wisconsin has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country and its prison population is approximately 5,000 people over capacity.
Representative Darrin Madison (D-10) joined several of his colleagues in the Democratic caucus in rejecting these proposals.
Representative Madison (D-10) issued the following statement:
“We know that we absolutely cannot fix our inhumane, unacceptable conditions in Wisconsin’s incarceration institutions by creating new ways to throw people into jail or prison. Wisconsin has an incarceration rate higher than nearly every other democratic nation and locks up a higher rate of Black people than every other state but one. That’s a clear, ongoing failure.
I’m hopeful that Governor Evers will fulfill his commitment to reducing Wisconsin’s prison population by vetoing these proposals, along with any other bills that expand our bloated carceral system.”
