In the last decade calls for bail reform have gained traction in many states. With COVID-19 and the recent protests for black lives, those calls may be getting louder. Today on “What’s the Word,” Adam Schuster looks into the history of bail, and how it became another form of wealth and race discrimination in the […]
Madison Mayor Announces Vote to Remove Police from Local Schools
“People are asking for real, substantive changes and the city is responding,” said Madison mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “Today, Madison city and school district leaders agreed to end the contract for school resource officers, known as SROs-the police officers that are stationed in high schools-calling for a new approach to managing conflicts in our schools and […]
Protesters organize outside Madison school administration building
Today, a group of Madison’s high school students, local organizers, and concerned citizens gathered outside the Madison School District – Doyle Administration Building, near the Kohl Center, with signs and masks. Their message? No cops, also known as resource officers, in schools. “We’re here to demand that the school district divest from police and […]
Dane County Jail to test all inmates; essential staff for COVID-19
The Dane County Sheriff’s office announced yesterday that it will administer COVID-19 tests to every inmate and employee in the Dane County jail. The decision comes after surges in new COVID-19 cases among inmates there. Jail officials say four inmates housed in the same pod of the jail tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. […]
Quarantine Measures Negatively Impacting Prison Population
James Morgan spent more than a decade in prison. He is now the lead peer support specialist at the Madison Urban Ministry where he helps formerly incarcerated people re-integrate into the community. Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, he’s been getting emails and phone calls from people serving time in state prisons. Here’s a recent one. […]
State Prison Officials to Reduce Inmate Population
The Wisconsin Department of Corrections is planning to release more than 1,200 inmates from DOC facilities throughout the state. The move, an attempt to quell the spread of COVID-19, will cut down on the state’s overcrowded correctional facilities. The decision to release the inmates is the latest in a series of actions designed to curb […]
