MADISON – Today, Governor-elect Tony Evers and Lt. Governor-elect Mandela Barnes announced their Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Policy Advisory Council, bringing together people from all sides of the criminal justice system to work with the transition team on exploring solutions for reforming Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.
“We have to start prioritizing people, not prisons,” said Evers. “In Wisconsin, African Americans are ten times more likely to be imprisoned than white people, and we spend more on corrections than on our entire UW System. Red states like Texas have passed comprehensive criminal justice reform, and I know Republicans and Democrats can work together to get it done here in Wisconsin.
“That’s why I’m proud of our Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Policy Advisory Council that brings together people from all sides of the criminal justice system to work toward a solution that works for us,” Evers concluded.
The Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Policy Advisory Council includes:
- Denita Ball, Milwaukee County Chief Deputy Sheriff
- Michelle Bryant, Courier Communications
- Louis Butler, Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice; DeWitt Ross & Stevens
- Sean Daley, AFSCME Council 32
- Walter Dickey, University of Wisconsin Law School; Former Department of Corrections Secretary
- Sarah Diedrick-Kasdorf, Wisconsin Counties Association
- Matt Frank, Murphy Desmond; Former Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary; Former Assistant Attorney General
- Sarah Ferber, Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO); WISDOM
- Janine Geske, Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice
- Kit Kerschensteiner, Disability Rights Wisconsin
- Gary King, Eau Claire County District Attorney
- Vince Kurta, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
- Angela Lang, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities
- Edgar Lin, Lowenberg & Lin; Formerly of the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office
- David Liners, WISDOM
- Dave Mahoney, Dane County Sheriff
- John Manydeeds, Eau Claire County Circuit Court Judge
- Craig Mastantuono, Mastantuono Coffee; Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association
- Louis Molepske, Portage County District Attorney
- The Honorable Derek Mosley, Milwaukee Municipal Judge
- Ali Muldrow, GSAFE
- Jim Palmer, Wisconsin Professional Police Association
- Rick Raemisch, Former Wisconsin Department of Corrections Secretary; Colorado Department of Corrections Executive Director; Former Dane County Sheriff
- Jonathan Scharrer, Restorative Justice Project, University of Wisconsin Law School
- The Honorable James Schlender, Jr., Lac Courte Oreille Tribal Court; Sawyer County Court Commission and Board of Supervisors
- Tammy Sternard, Door County Sheriff
- Dean Strang, Strang Bradley
- Kelli Thompson, Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office
- The Honorable Mary Triggiano, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge
- The Honorable Donald Zuidmulder, Brown County Circuit Court Judge; Former Brown County District Attorney
For additional information about Governor-elect Evers, Lt. Governor-elect Barnes, and the transition team, please visit evers.wi.gov.