Friday’s commutations hearing Wisconsin’s first in twenty-five years

Wisconsin is slated to hold its first commutations hearing in twenty-five years this Friday, where a dozen incarcerated people will make their case for a shortened sentence. The hearing comes just months after Governor Evers reopened the state’s commutation process through a pair of executive orders. Mark Rice is the transformational justice campaign coordinator at WISDOM, a statewide advocacy group that’s supported restarting commutations for years. He told our News Producer Faye Parks that this week’s hearing is a promising sign that things are finally moving forward, but that the future of the state’s carceral system is on the ballot in November. Image courtesy: Brian Standing / WORT News.