Marshall Jones is a good test case for your opinion about the state’s revived commutation process.
In April, Gov. Tony Evers announced he was restarting the commutation process – a form of clemency that allows governors to change prison sentences for incarcerated people.
In a statement, Evers said he was trying to move Wisconsin’s “justice system into the 21st Century by reforming our criminal justice and corrections systems to improve public safety, reduce the likelihood that individuals will reoffend when they enter our communities and save taxpayer dollars in the long run.”
Some supporters of Evers’ decision say people can change after decades in prison and that remaining there no longer serves any beneficial purpose.
However, critics question whether people convicted of serious violent crimes should ever be released early.
Jones sits at the center of these views.
He was sentenced in 2004 to two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
He said he fully acknowledges his crimes, which occurred during an armed tavern robbery in Racine, and continues to have remorse over them.
“No amount of right I have done would ever erase the wrong I have done to my victims and their families, and I understand that perfectly,” Jones said. “I also know that I am a transformed man, and I am rehabilitated.”
Applying for commutation
Jones said he decided to apply for a commutation the moment his wife, Jessica Jones, told him about Evers’ announcement.
There are two commutation tracks: a general commutation process for people convicted as adults and a separate process for some sentenced as juveniles.
Jones, who was 22 when he was sentenced to life and is now 44, qualifies for the first track.
Applicants qualify for this track if they are: incarcerated on a Wisconsin conviction; have more than one year left on their sentence; have served at least half their incarceration term or at least 20 years of a life sentence.
They also cannot be serving sentences for sex offenses; have unresolved criminal charges or warrants; or have committed violent misconduct in prison within the past five years.
Individuals who apply must provide information about the crimes for which they are seeking commutation; prior interactions with law enforcement; prison disciplinary history; rehabilitation efforts; and reentry plans.
Applications also require certified court records as well as letters of support.
“Emotionally, a person has to remain calm,” Jones said. “There is a sense of urgency that will be overwhelming at times.”
He said coming up with a clear plan has been vital to overcoming his panic.
“One box at a time. One task at a time,” he said.
For and against
Nationally, many politicians associated with “tough-on-crime” policies have opposed sentence reductions for people convicted of violent crimes, arguing rehabilitation cannot outweigh the harm caused.
In Wisconsin, it has become a hotbed issue in the race for governor.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s gubernatorial campaign told NNS that he would rescind the executive orders that allow murderers, including those serving life sentences, to be released back into the community after 20 years.
“He is making a commitment as governor that he will not release violent criminals early and will ensure victims and their families receive the full measure of justice,” said the Tiffany campaign.
Diego Rodriguez, coalition coordinator for Justice Forward Wisconsin, an advocacy coalition focused on criminal justice reform, said he understands the concerns people have but believes they are based on misunderstandings of the process.
Commutation is far from automatic, he said. The approval process includes multiple reviews, eligibility restrictions and detailed reentry planning requirements.
“These are pretty thorough applications,” Rodriguez said. “If somebody still poses a threat to the community, they’re not going to let them out.”
Shannon Ross, a criminal justice advocate who works with Justice Forward to support the commutation application process, said people in prison who have genuinely transformed often have clear ways of showing that to be the case.
“If you’ve been doing the work, if you’ve been spending your time constructively, this is your moment,” Ross said.
Impact of victims
The impact of a commutation on victims and survivors will be part of how applications are evaluated, according to Executive Order #287. Also evaluated will be the potential impact on public safety, applicants’ prison conduct and their personal growth and development since conviction.
“What commutations allow is for the governor to come in and to step in and to identify people who have made changes,” Rodriguez said.
If someone is truly remorseful, has accepted responsibility and demonstrated long-term change, prison no longer serves any meaningful rehabilitative purpose, he said.
Rodriguez also said that commutations could improve public safety by helping reduce overcrowding inside Wisconsin prisons.
Wisconsin prisons have long faced overcrowding and staffing shortages.
“Far more people are incarcerated than we even have space for,” Rodriguez said.
Under these conditions, Rodriguez said, prisons become less safe and less effective at rehabilitation.
“It makes our community less safe when we have overcrowded prisons because they’re not getting the same quality of treatment,” Rodriguez said.
Accountability
During a commutation application webinar organized by Justice Forward Wisconsin, former Wisconsin Parole Commission Chair John Tate II said accountability is central to the process.
“The thing that I would emphasize the most when we’re talking about a discretionary mechanism within the criminal legal system is accountability, accountability, accountability,” Tate said.
“Any minimization of what their role in that (crime) was is often seen as a lack of accountability,” he added.
Jones said his accountability starts with fully acknowledging the harm he caused and what kind of person he once was.
“I was a horrible person, and I took lives without mercy,” Jones said.
But Jones said decades in prison changed him.
His wife, Jessica, who met him while working at the New Lisbon Correctional Institution in Dodge County, said her views on rehabilitation have changed by getting to know people who are incarcerated.
“Most of the general public believes that all people in prison are horrible people, incorrigible and worthless,” she said. “I used to be one of those people. I believed everyone in prison could be nothing more than their worst day. Then, I worked in the prison and learned how wrong I was.”
She said she met many men in prison who shouldn’t be there anymore. She believes her husband is one of them.
“He does more good than many free people I know,” she said. “He does not let his sentence or crime define him even though it’s a daily reality.”
Open questions
Major questions about the process still remain, including how quickly applications will be processed and how many people could ultimately receive commutations.
There is also uncertainty surrounding the future of the process itself. NNS reached out to the governor’s office to ask whether the commutation process could change under new leadership but did not receive a response.
“This is a governor’s last term,” Rodriguez said. “When it comes to executive orders, those can be changed in an instant.”
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