Campus Panel Examines Racial Disparities and Jail Plans in Wisconsin's Justice System

Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI), a new organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, held a criminal justice reform panel at Union South on Oct. 7. The discussion focused on how homelessness, schooling and race connect to problems in the criminal justice system.

Dr. David Pate, a professor of consumer science, human development and family studies at UW-Madison, moderated the event. SAMI has several trips and events planned for the year, including a visit to the Dane County Jail. Vice President Gabriel Meyer-Herron said the group aims to push "comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system in Madison, and creating an environment for discourse and discussion."

Panelists cited figures on who is being incarcerated. Shar-ron Buie, data and evaluation coordinator for the Dane County Office of Justice and Reform, said Black Wisconsinites are 12 times more likely to be arrested than white residents. She noted that this gives Wisconsin the second-highest Black-white incarceration disparity in the country.

UW-Madison law professor Ion Meyn offered a historical reading of the gap, suggesting that after chattel slavery, white institutions had to find a way to oppose slavery while still preserving elements of racism. He also compared incarceration rates, saying the rate in the 1820s was 1 in 10, not 1 in 12. "It means we are doing worse than Jim Crow," Meyn said of what the figure means today.

The four panelists agreed that language matters when it comes to exposing institutional wrongdoing. James Morgan, a community organizer with Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity and Solidarity for Criminal Legal System Reform, called language "the currency of power." He argued that institutions use pleasant-sounding words to keep exploitation out of public view, and urged the audience to consider who defines their reality and who shapes the policies of the officials they vote for.

The conversation also turned to the Dane County jail consolidation project, which would merge outdated downtown jail facilities into a new tower attached to the Dane County Public Safety building. The plan would cut the bed count from 1,013 to 825 and seeks to eliminate or reduce solitary confinement. Morgan said he believes it will worsen outcomes for incarcerated people, calling it "totally inadequate" and pointing to people who struggle with mental health issues and alcoholism as those most likely to be targeted.

Morgan also worried that, with the population expected to grow over the next 10 to 20 years, policymakers are concentrating on the wrong issues. "They're not talking about adequate housing," he said.

On solutions, Wisconsin Public Defender Benjamin Gonring addressed recidivism among young people. He said the gap in recidivism rates between 20- to 24-year-olds and those over 45 was 24.5% in 2016. "These children need investment," Gonring said, adding that young people need at least one person who tells them what they can become.

Near the end, Morgan was asked how university rules reinforce these systems, in reference to statutes requiring a share of university supplies to be produced through prison labor via Badger State Industries. His answer was to "expose them," and he said such places need a living wage, accountability practices and help with reintegration.

Meyn closed by asking whether publicizing crimes is itself racist and harmful. "It's a question I have for you, the answer I have for it is yes," he said.