Incarcerated people tell us what they want to see in a new head of Wisconsin’s prison system | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Devin Blake
April 17, 2024
The search for someone to lead the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, or DOC, is in progress.
In a press release, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced the retirement of Kevin Carr, who served as secretary of the DOC for roughly five years.
Evers applauded Carr’s accomplishments, including expansion of educational opportunities for people who are incarcerated as well as increased access to medication assisted treatment, a treatment often used for opioid use disorder.
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But some people who are currently incarcerated are not so quick to praise Carr.
Prisoners throughout Wisconsin shared, with NNS concerns about the conditions they are living in, including not having adequate access to medical and mental health care and not enough opportunities for rehabilitation.
They also shared what qualities they think a new secretary should have.
A common theme among their concerns is the need for the new secretary to have a basic respect for their dignity and humanity.
Beth Hardtke, director of communications for the DOC, said in an email that the DOC
“welcomes all Wisconsinites weighing in on the department’s policies, including persons in our care and justice-involved individuals.”
She said the DOC is working to update its policies and assess various conditions in prisons.
For example, the DOC is incrementally increasing activities for those incarcerated under a policy of “modified movement,”a practice between a lockdown and normal operations, where some programming and movement of prisoners continue to take place but with some restrictions, Hardtke said.
The DOC also is working to increase programming for prisoners in restrictive housing, where prisoners are kept apart from the general population of prisoners for a period of time, Hardtke said.
Here are thoughts about a new DOC secretary from people who are currently incarcerated in a DOC facility.
“The new director should be focusing on making programs available to people to reduce the prison population, giving us incentives to have good behavior while incarcerated, to encourage us that change is worth it. You can be tough on crime, but a prison cell does not give a person treatment … ,” said Nicgorski.
“As far as priorities that the new DOC director should look at, there should be a look at the programing and schooling for individuals incarcerated, especially for guys who have been in prison for a long time, and it can be hard to get into programs or higher learning due to their release date,” said Diaz.
“I will start with what no one wants, and absolutely no one needs, a politician,” Green said. “We need solutions that are not just fodder for partisan arguments. We need bipartisan support for the new director if change is to be the end result. What is needed is an intellectual capable of diplomacy. Not just a diplomacy between political lines, but a leader who is wise enough to utilize all available resources.”
“We want someone proactive, instead of passively reactive. Someone who will work with inmates that desire change as much as anyone.”
“I know that many of those imprisoned would want someone who demands transparency and accountability of the staff and operations of the prisons,” Lanaghan said. “A very tangible matter for Wisconsin prisoners is the reality of nearly zero accountability of DOC staff and administration for their actions.”
“He or she needs to prioritize reconnecting/maintaining connections between incarcerated peoples and their families and loved ones. The DOC has made it extremely difficult for people on the outside to come and visit their incarcerated loved ones,” Thomas said.
“Before, loved ones could come up on a whim to visit their loved ones in prison. (They were already approved through the background checks.)”
“The pandemic gave DOC administrative officials the excuse to put more of a strain on visitors by requiring that they schedule visits (in limited time slots) days or weeks ahead.”
“I think drug offense crimes should have more programs, so the institutions are not filled to the brim,” Ketchum said. “We have inmates being assaulted, officers being assaulted, people dying at the hands of others throughout the Wisconsin prison system. People with petty crimes are being forced to live like animals, then become them. The new director’s priorities should revolve around those issues.”
“Substance use disorder treatment should be provided to the incarcerated citizen not based upon his or her prison sentence, but instead based upon his or her date of admission. … Presently, an inmate’s start date can be pushed back or not assigned merely because a new admission’s sentence structure is shorter than the person who has been waiting for years to be provided treatment while incarcerated,” Alexander said.
“I think the new priorities of the secretary should be aimed at the training of staff,” said Mitchell.
Devin Blake is the criminal justice reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. His position is funded by the Public Welfare Foundation, which plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.