1
00:00:01,068 --> 00:00:03,537
Wisconsin's children.
>> We leave it there.

2
00:00:03,604 --> 00:00:05,239
Superintendent Jeff Wright,
thanks very much.

3
00:00:05,305 --> 00:00:09,109
>> Thank you.
>> Governor Tony Evers $500

4
00:00:09,810 --> 00:00:12,913
million plan to revamp the
state prison system is

5
00:00:12,980 --> 00:00:16,083
underway, but only in the
most modest fashion.

6
00:00:16,149 --> 00:00:18,685
Earlier this year, a
bipartisan group at the

7
00:00:18,752 --> 00:00:22,322
State Building Commission
released $15 million to

8
00:00:22,389 --> 00:00:26,059
start the years long
process to eventually close

9
00:00:26,126 --> 00:00:29,897
down green Bay Correctional.
Tonight, as we continue our

10
00:00:29,963 --> 00:00:32,733
look at some of the biggest
issues in the race for

11
00:00:32,799 --> 00:00:35,536
governor "Here& Now",
senior political reporter

12
00:00:35,602 --> 00:00:37,738
Zac Schultz asks the
leading candidates for

13
00:00:37,804 --> 00:00:40,407
governor if they would
carry through Governor

14
00:00:40,474 --> 00:00:44,645
Evers corrections overhaul.
>> Green Bay Correctional

15
00:00:44,711 --> 00:00:47,147
and Waupan Correctional are
two of the oldest prisons

16
00:00:47,214 --> 00:00:50,150
in the country still
holding inmates, and

17
00:00:50,217 --> 00:00:53,020
studies have shown time and
again the buildings are not

18
00:00:53,086 --> 00:00:57,658
safe for staff or prisoners.
But building new prisons is

19
00:00:57,724 --> 00:01:00,761
expensive, and closing down
prisons is not politically

20
00:01:00,827 --> 00:01:03,330
expedient. When every
election cycle can quickly

21
00:01:03,397 --> 00:01:06,967
shift focus to law and
order. So we asked nine of

22
00:01:07,034 --> 00:01:09,102
the leading candidates if
they would continue.

23
00:01:09,169 --> 00:01:12,506
Governor Evers plans to
reform Wisconsin's prison

24
00:01:12,573 --> 00:01:15,576
system.
>> I watched that plan be

25
00:01:16,109 --> 00:01:19,112
developed. I have great,
great respect for the team

26
00:01:19,179 --> 00:01:21,615
at the Department of
Corrections who has put

27
00:01:21,682 --> 00:01:24,351
that plan together, along
with Governor Evers

28
00:01:24,418 --> 00:01:26,753
administration, and we need
to get moving on that. You

29
00:01:26,820 --> 00:01:29,556
know, it might not be
perfect, but nothing ever

30
00:01:29,623 --> 00:01:32,092
is when it comes to
corrections. It's a very

31
00:01:32,159 --> 00:01:35,662
difficult situation. And
but we need to make

32
00:01:35,729 --> 00:01:37,564
improvements on that. We
need to modernize that

33
00:01:37,631 --> 00:01:41,535
system. It is costing us
more now to keep the old

34
00:01:41,602 --> 00:01:44,171
system in place than it
would be to build a new

35
00:01:44,238 --> 00:01:47,074
system and get that rolling.
>> Yeah. So with green Bay,

36
00:01:47,140 --> 00:01:49,209
I know that there are a
number of safety concerns.

37
00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:51,345
Structural concerns, of
course. I mean, we can't

38
00:01:51,411 --> 00:01:55,115
have people or even whether
you're a person who's

39
00:01:55,182 --> 00:01:57,518
housed at that facility or
a person who's working at

40
00:01:57,584 --> 00:01:59,486
that facility, we can't
people have people in

41
00:01:59,553 --> 00:02:03,490
substandard conditions. So
the overhaul of smaller

42
00:02:03,557 --> 00:02:06,326
facilities, more regional
facilities, I think that

43
00:02:06,393 --> 00:02:08,862
might get us to a place
where we can more

44
00:02:08,929 --> 00:02:11,932
effectively rehabilitate
people. And that has to be

45
00:02:11,999 --> 00:02:14,735
our baseline as well,
ensuring that

46
00:02:14,801 --> 00:02:16,770
rehabilitation actually
happens.

47
00:02:16,837 --> 00:02:19,239
>> I think it's important
to look at reducing our

48
00:02:19,306 --> 00:02:23,243
prison population, while
also ensuring that those

49
00:02:23,310 --> 00:02:26,980
who are at the Department
of Corrections have

50
00:02:27,047 --> 00:02:31,952
opportunities to be able to
transition and be safe in

51
00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:36,657
their work environments.
And so I will certainly

52
00:02:36,723 --> 00:02:41,695
look at some of the plans
that the governor has now.

53
00:02:41,762 --> 00:02:46,033
But overall, it's important
that we look at transition

54
00:02:46,099 --> 00:02:49,736
programs and ways that we
can keep those who are

55
00:02:49,803 --> 00:02:51,505
incarcerated and those who
are working in our prisons

56
00:02:51,572 --> 00:02:54,474
safe.
>> Absolutely. We have to

57
00:02:54,942 --> 00:02:58,545
absolutely have to make
sure that we are doing

58
00:02:58,612 --> 00:03:01,548
what's best for people
within our prison system

59
00:03:01,615 --> 00:03:04,084
and corrections system, and
it needs an overhaul.

60
00:03:04,151 --> 00:03:08,055
>> And I think we need to
continually try to to

61
00:03:08,121 --> 00:03:10,924
create that balance where
where there is need for

62
00:03:10,991 --> 00:03:14,094
secure detention and where
there is need for employees

63
00:03:14,161 --> 00:03:17,831
of the corrections system
to have the right tools at

64
00:03:17,898 --> 00:03:20,467
their disposal. We need to
create those, because we

65
00:03:20,534 --> 00:03:24,571
have these 150 year old
prisons and things that we

66
00:03:24,638 --> 00:03:27,641
need to do to make
investments on. But at the

67
00:03:27,708 --> 00:03:30,043
same time, I think we also
need and I think the

68
00:03:30,110 --> 00:03:32,679
governor has done this too.
We need to look at the

69
00:03:32,746 --> 00:03:34,715
alternatives to
incarceration. We need to

70
00:03:34,781 --> 00:03:36,817
work with our partners at
the local level to ensure

71
00:03:36,884 --> 00:03:39,653
that there is a pathway
that doesn't just ensure

72
00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,856
that what we have is the
last resort, which is where

73
00:03:42,923 --> 00:03:45,425
we're putting people in
prison and locking them up.

74
00:03:45,492 --> 00:03:48,762
>> We have to reform the
Department of Corrections.

75
00:03:48,829 --> 00:03:51,598
Governor Evers, when he ran
against Governor Walker, he

76
00:03:51,665 --> 00:03:54,168
said, I am going to take
care of that, including

77
00:03:54,234 --> 00:03:56,303
Lincoln Hills, and he has
not followed through on it.

78
00:03:56,370 --> 00:03:59,640
And when you look at the
debacle over in Waupan with,

79
00:03:59,706 --> 00:04:01,975
I think there's been a
couple deaths over there, I

80
00:04:02,042 --> 00:04:04,811
mean, that's unacceptable.
We need reform in the

81
00:04:04,878 --> 00:04:09,516
Department of Corrections,
and I will I don't know

82
00:04:09,583 --> 00:04:12,686
that I'll go in the same
direction as Governor Evers,

83
00:04:12,753 --> 00:04:15,322
but clearly we have to
reform our correctional

84
00:04:15,389 --> 00:04:17,724
system.
revisit how we do

85
00:04:18,192 --> 00:04:20,394
corrections here in the
state of Wisconsin. When I

86
00:04:20,460 --> 00:04:22,930
served in the state
legislature years ago, you

87
00:04:22,996 --> 00:04:25,933
know, Grover Norquist came
to Wisconsin to talk about

88
00:04:25,999 --> 00:04:28,602
how we needed to do
criminal justice reform.

89
00:04:28,669 --> 00:04:31,405
And there's not many times
where I can say I agree

90
00:04:31,471 --> 00:04:34,041
with Grover Norquist. And
so we should be looking at

91
00:04:34,107 --> 00:04:36,977
how do we make sure that
those, those, those, those

92
00:04:37,044 --> 00:04:39,813
less violent offenders
aren't just spending as

93
00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,382
much time in our care,
which costs us a lot more

94
00:04:42,449 --> 00:04:45,118
money to have them in
prison?

95
00:04:46,019 --> 00:04:48,422
rightsize the corrections
system, and we have to get

96
00:04:48,488 --> 00:04:53,060
serious about safety in
this state. We have pursued

97
00:04:53,126 --> 00:04:55,696
policies that are not only
not evidence based, but

98
00:04:55,762 --> 00:05:00,067
that really undermine
public safety. It is how we

99
00:05:00,133 --> 00:05:02,369
incarcerate people. It is
how long, and it is the

100
00:05:02,436 --> 00:05:06,039
lack of services and
training to help people

101
00:05:06,106 --> 00:05:09,042
succeed when they actually
reenter society. We spend

102
00:05:09,109 --> 00:05:12,112
an ocean of money on this,
and we are not getting the

103
00:05:12,179 --> 00:05:16,183
safety return that we
safety return that we