PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — An inmate at an Outagamie County correctional center says Governor Tony Evers’ plans for prisons have given him and others new hope of getting out early.
As part of his two-year budget proposal, the governor wants to close Green Bay Correctional Institution as early as spring of 2029. To do that, he wants to renovate and add onto existing facilities, while expanding programs to reduce prison populations.
One of those programs is the Earned Release Program.
Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center is where 40-year-old John Casper will serve the two years and 10 months remaining on his prison sentence. The past two years, Casper hasn’t been at the prison as much.
“I work 12 hour days, six days a week,” said Casper.
Casper works in a local foundry. He believes he’s proven he could be released back into the community, despite spending most of his adult life in the prison system on drug-related convictions — most recently for dealing heroin and cocaine.
“Because I’ve sold drugs most of my life, I haven’t really held a real job like that and I’ve been in a situation where I’ve now been working consistently for two years,” said Casper. “My body is getting used to it and the value of money that I have with actually working hard for it, rather than selling it and all that stuff. That, with the treatment, I think is greatly beneficial.”
Casper says he hasn’t received substance use treatment during his current sentence.
He’s been appealing unsuccessfully to be eligible for the state’s Earned Release Program — a substance abuse program that allows inmates with less than four years left on their sentence to leave prison early.
“I think the good thing about getting the ERP is when you get the ERP, you do the treatment and the stuff is still fresh when you get released,” said Casper.
2,535 inmates are currently on the waitlist for ERP. A judge determines whether someone is eligible and the DOC picks who is suitable for the program.
Last fiscal year, 1,789 inmates graduated from the program.
The state’s online dashboard shows about 42% of graduates since 2018 have been rearrested within two years. About 30% have been reconvicted in that time and about 23% are reincarcerated.
“I want them to get reintegrated back to society, but it has not been a successful program,” said Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt.
Schmidt has four prisons in his county and says he’s seen countless inmates reoffend after graduating the program.
Republican lawmakers have already said Evers’ desire to expand programs like ERP will be an obstacle to getting his prison plan passed.
“If the eligibility remains the same and all it is is increasing staffing to address a backlog, that will be an easier sell within our caucus,” said State Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard. “However, it’s still not an easy one.”
Evers is proposing $3.7 million to up the pay for corrections social workers and treatment specialists. Republicans have already promised changes to his plan.
Evers’ office says $40,000 is saved each year per inmate who is no longer in a correctional facility.
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