An ad by Right Direction Wisconsin PAC is taking aim at Gov. Tony Evers, claiming he has set free hundreds of criminals in the state.
For starters, the governor does not choose who gets released on parole, but he does get to choose who chairs the Parole Commission.
The other three members are appointed by the chairperson.
“It is the Parole Commission that makes the decisions about who is released. Not the governor, not the secretary of corrections, no other official. It is a parole decision. However, because the governor is appointing the parole chair for a period of several years, there certainly is influence of the executive branch leader,” said Cecelia Klingele, Assoc. Prof. of Law at the University of Wisconsin.
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Our Truth Be Told team sat down with Prof. Klingele to discuss how parole works in Wisconsin.
There are two types of parole: discretionary and mandatory.
Discretionary is when an offender goes in front of the Parole Commission after serving between 25% and 66.6% of their sentence.
“The Parole Commission had the discretion to decide based on a number of factors, many outlined in state law, whether or not a person should be released to the community during that intermediate period of time,” said Prof. Klingele.
Mandatory release is different. The sentence pretty much determines when the offender is required to be released.
“Once two-thirds of the sentence had been served, for most individuals who are sentenced, and again it depends a little bit on the crime of conviction. At that 66.6% mark, at that point the commission is required to release them. We call that a mandatory release date,” said Prof. Klingele.
Truth be told, Gov. Evers did intervene in one case this year when John Tate, now former parole chair, wanted to release Douglas Balsewicz.
Balsewicz stabbed his wife to death in 1997 and had served fewer than 25 years of an 80-year sentence.
The parole was rescinded, and Tate resigned at the request of Gov. Evers.
Another key point, anyone who committed a crime from Jan. 1, 2000 and beyond is not eligible for parole.
Since then, Wisconsin has operated under a truth-in-sentencing system.
Thousands of discretionary paroles have been granted under previous administrations for people who committed a crime before 2000.
In 2018, candidate Evers campaigned to reduce the state’s prison population.
Let’s look at discretionary paroles – meaning solely granted by the Parole Commission – under Gov. Evers compared to former Gov. Scott Walker.
More than 650 discretionary paroles were granted under Walker between 2011-2018, or 47.5% of total paroles.
Under Evers, more than 450 discretionary paroles have been granted – or 51.5% of all paroles.
Let's look at just violent offenders, which we broke down into categories like homicide, sexual assault, armed robberies, and battery.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections data from 2011 through May 29, 2022 showed 395 (49%) violent offenders received discretionary parole under Gov. Evers. That is compared to 411 (51%) discretionary paroles for violent crimes under Gov. Walker.
Keep in mind that is for eight years for Gov. Walker vs. about four years for Gov. Evers.
Gov. Evers' campaign sent us a statement in response to this report.
“Gov. Evers has prioritized community safety and has taken action to keep our communities safe by directing over $100 million to public safety efforts, including funding for every local law enforcement agency in the state.”