Promise to work toward cutting prison population in half stalls

During his 2018 campaign, now-Gov. Tony Evers said he supported the “goal” of cutting the Wisconsin prison population in half.

Evers noted it was a long-term effort that couldn’t be done in a single term. So we’re evaluating this one based on how much progress has been made in that direction, and if it’s based on actions by Evers.

In a January 2021 email to PolitiFact Wisconsin, Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback noted that the prison population had dropped from more than 23,000 in 2019, when Evers took office, to 20,000 at the end of 2020. 

The state Department of Corrections at the time said that drop was primarily due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which halted trials for a time.

“A major part of the decrease in population can be attributed to a slower-moving court system during the pandemic,” DOC spokesman John Beard said in an email at the time.

Beard also noted the department itself – and therefore the administration – is limited in its ability to immediately reduce the population, since only a few programs allow inmates to be set free before their scheduled release date. According to a DOC “Persons in Our Care” report, as of April 1, 2022, the state adult prison population was at 19,878, down scarcely a notch from the 20,000 reported at the end of 2020.

In 2021, we rated his promise In the Works. 

But there has been virtually no movement since then. From the start, Evers noted this was a long-term goal – not one to be completed in a single term. 

We are moving this rating to Stalled.