MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly is scheduled to vote on a proposal amending the state constitution to make it harder for violent criminal defendants to get out on bail.
Backers of the change up for a vote Tuesday are hoping to capitalize on anger over the killing of six people by a driver who authorities say plowed into a Christmas parade near Milwaukee. The man charged in that case, Darrell Brooks Jr., had posted $1,000 bail on an earlier case two days before the Nov. 21 parade in downtown Waukesha.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment, who have been trying since 2017 to get it passed, say their effort is not in reaction to the parade deaths. But that has given the amendment momentum it’s not seen before.
