Governor-elect Tony Evers and Lt. Governor-elect Mandela Barnes Announce Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Policy Advisory Council

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