Prison Reform Group Apologizes To DOC For Alleging It Wrongfully Punished Inmate

Prison reform advocates with the statewide group Tuesday accused the Department of Corrections of retaliating against an inmate after he talked to a Milwaukee newspaper reporter about changing the state’s parole process.

Since then, however, they have rescinded the allegation, saying that they made a “significant error.”

Rev. Jerry Hancock of Madison initially said the group had evidence that inmate Anthony Brown was placed in segregation at the Oakhill prison because he was quoted in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article in July complaining about the DOC denying him a fair chance to earn parole from his murder conviction. Hancock had said the confinement suggested Brown was being punished for telling the truth.

“Was he put in solitary confinement because he is living, breathing, truth-speaking proof of the $1 billion a year mismanagement of the Department of Corrections?” Hancock said.

An email from DOC Public Affairs Director Joy Staab sent on Tuesday said Brown is not being punished for talking to the press. Rather, he is in segregation while the department investigates allegations that he made an unauthorized phone call asking a friend to search a woman’s phone records to see if she had been calling other men.

On Wednesday, David Liners apologized to the DOC for the group’s initial accusations. In a letter, he wrote: “As the Executive Director of WISDOM, I take responsibility for failing to be sure we had all the facts before we sent you a letter. I am sorry for that.”

WISDOM still plans a protest rally Wednesday in Milwaukee calling for reforming the parole revocation procedure, which they say unfairly sends released inmates back to prison for minor rule infractions. The group will also call for changes in the use GPS monitoring bracelets for parolees.