Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, a candidate in Wisconsin’s Senate race, has advocated numerous times in the past for the state to cut its prison population in half.
Before entering office in 2019, Barnes partnered with an organization called Wisdom in 2012 to launch an initiative aimed at cutting the state’s prison population in half. In 2018, then-gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers said Barnes’s idea of cutting down the state’s prison population was a “goal” but clarified he would not release violent offenders, according to Fox News.
“6 years ago when we kicked off the 11×15 campaign to cut the prison population in half, we could hardly find elected leaders or candidates to get onboard,” Barnes tweeted. “To see it embraced at a gubernatorial candidate forum makes me proud to have worked with such visionary organizers/activists.”
MIDTERMS 2022: HERE ARE THE ISSUES OHIO VOTERS CARE ABOUT THE MOST
6 years ago when we kicked off the 11×15 campaign to cut the prison population in half, we could hardly find elected leaders or candidates to get onboard.
To see it embraced at a gubernatorial candidate forum makes me proud to have worked with such visionary organizers/activists
— Mandela Barnes (@TheOtherMandela) July 12, 2018
The Wisconsin lieutenant governor has also expressed support for allowing prison inmates to vote, saying in 2018 on the podcast Millennial Politics people should be allowed to vote “honestly, even when someone is locked up.”
Barnes is running against incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in the state’s Senate election. The lieutenant governor was called “dangerous” for Wisconsin by a spokesperson for the Johnson campaign.
“Lt. Gov. Barnes is a socialist liberal who cares more about catering to his ‘woke’ base than keeping Wisconsin families safe,” the spokesperson said. “Crime is out-of-control in Wisconsin, and we can’t afford to elect a radical who cares more about criminals than their victims.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Since Evers and Barnes took office in 2019, Wisconsin’s prison population has decreased by roughly 15%, going from 23,777 to 20,123 in 2022, according to statistics from Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections. Wisconsin experiences an annual population of 105,515 within its state, with 18,861 violent crimes and 86,654 property crimes, according to statistics from Neighborhood Scout.
