MADISON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) – Hundreds of protesters gathered in Madison for a different reason than the last several weeks.
Thursday afternoon the focus shifted to Gov. Tony Evers who protesters said is ignoring incarcerated people as coronavirus infection rates in prisons soar.
A caravan of protesters rallied outside of the Executive Residence Thursday.
Ramiah Whiteside of Milwaukee spent 25 years in prison and is currently on parole.
“These are just morgues waiting to happen,” Whiteside said. “I know what it's like to basically see death coming and you can't do anything about it.”
Whiteside is a member of a group called Ex-incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO), which organized Thursday's caravan along with Wisdom for Justice and a group called Free – Reclaiming Women's Freedom. Those organizations want the governor to use his pardon powers to get Wisconsin's overcrowded prison population numbers down to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“If I'm in quarantine within an institutional setting and my next-door neighbor gets sick, where am I going to go?” Whiteside asked. “I'm in prison. Where am I going to go?”
Protesters said they are holding the governor to a campaign promise he made.
Talib Akbar, who spent 20 years in prison, said he wants to see the governor act within his power to release those in danger, especially the elderly who are less likely to re-offend.
“I wouldn't say he's done enough,” Akbar said. “I can say he's doing something. What he said he was going to do, one of his issues for this year is that he was going to work on the criminal justice system and this is part of it. As drastic as it might seem, letting a few people go is fine.”
Whiteside said the issues don't have to be political and Gov. Evers has the power to act.
“You don't have to go to Robin Vos, you don't have to go to Scott Fitzgerald to do any of this,” Whiteside said. “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is an American issue.”
The Governor's Pardon Advisory Board is scheduled to hold a virtual hearing Tuesday, June 23 for 26 Milwaukee-area applicants.
The Wisconsin Constitution grants the governor the power to pardon individuals convicted of a crime. A pardon is an official act of forgiveness that restores some of the rights that are lost when someone is convicted of a felony, including the right to serve on a jury, hold public office, and hold certain professional licenses. A pardon does not result in an expungement.
Spectrum News 1 reached out to Gov. Tony Evers' office for comment but did not hear back.