So there has been a lot of talk about justice reform and decreasing the inmate population in Wisconsin by up to half!! Yes.. Half!!!
Listen, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I think "we the people" need to be more involved in this discussion and the actuation of whatever vehicle(s) will be used to accomplish the task. REMEMBER: this is just MY opinion, but I feel it would be a disservice not to share it.
History has shown us that when there is a discussion about pushing individuals out of the system, its usually centered on "nonviolent" and "drug" offense convictions. Why I completely understand the logic, I am of the belief that in this era, the Truth in Sentencing(TIS) era, we must look at sentencing guidelines and or evisceration of TIS as a whole. TIS requires that every inmate does everyday of his time without the possibility of parole or good time. Now I'll admit that I'm all for people being held responsible for the choices they make, but when judges are handing down 20 and 30 year sentences for crimes where the ONLY thing that makes that kind of time plausible is the crime's statutory classification, you're going to run into overcrowding issues.
I'm not pointing the finger, because after reading thousands of hours of legislative minutes(transcripts) I've come to the conclusion that their intentions, even when not agreeable, are more often than not, respectable. With that being said this does not negate the fact that the current sentencing structure coupled with TIS is arguably half responsible for the dire need for justice reform in Wisconsin. The other half... well that has everything to do with what actually happens within the prison walls and the unknown debt to society the accused pay during the election years. I'll come back to that.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION IN ONE THE FORUMS