By Devin Blake Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Published Jun 29, 2024 at 6:01 PM

Members of Prison Action Milwaukee believe in something others may find radical: Progress is possible.

Also known as PAM, the nonprofit advocates on behalf of individuals who are incarcerated or impacted by the criminal legal system and their families.

Or, in the words of Rose Scott, PAM’s president and co-founder: “We are an organization for change.”

Instead of discussing judges’ rulings, PAM shows up to court hearings.

Instead of complaining about an unjust law, PAM hounds legislators to change it.

By proceeding in this way, Scott believes systemic problems such as unsafe conditions in prisons or mass incarceration are completely solvable.

“We are all intelligent enough to know how to get the program together,” she said. “When you say ‘I can’t,’ what you’re actually saying is, ‘You don’t have the will to.’”

A matter of will

PAM does not pursue formal funding. Instead, Scott works to cultivate this will to act among PAM’s members, said Eugene Nelson, PAM’s vice president and co-founder.

“We are not chasing dollars. We are trying to do the work,” Nelson said.

During PAM’s monthly meeting in April, a newer member, Sa’Aire Salton, asked how she could be helpful.

Scott’s answer was typical: “You’re going to tell us what you’re going to do.”

A will to act

As a licensed behavioral health clinician, Salton has treated many individuals who have been incarcerated, and, she said, they consistently report inadequate mental health care during their incarceration.

The Department of Corrections’ own data shows a staggering gap between the number of people who are enrolled in mental health programming and those on the waitlist.

In April, 904 individuals were enrolled in the department’s cognitive behavioral programming, but 10,419 individuals were on the waitlist, its data shows.

Beth Hardtke, director of communications for the Department of Corrections said trained professionals provide mental health services, adding the department’s Bureau of Health Services has a psychiatric director, psychology director and a mental health director.

The department’s leadership also regularly meets with various stakeholders and welcomes public dialogue, Hardtke said.

Ongoing problems and concerns

Throughout its history, PAM has touched practically every facet of the criminal justice system. But there are some recurring issues it addresses.

The issue upon which PAM was founded is parole reform and what is known as Wisconsin’s Truth-in-Sentencing law.

According to the Wisconsin Parole Commission, the Truth-in-Sentencing law – 1997 Wisconsin Act 283 – states that anyone who commits a felony on or after Dec. 31, 1999, and is sentenced to at least one year in prison cannot earn parole. With few exceptions, these people must serve the entirety of their sentence.

Arguments, at the time, in favor of Truth-in-Sentencing, included the idea that “parole and other forms of early release had created a ‘revolving door’ criminal justice system, with many offenders serving less than half of their sentences,” as stated in a 1999 report published by the now-defunct Wisconsin Sentencing Commision.

Opponents of Truth-in-Sentencing argue that it has caused much harm.

Truth-in-Sentencing is, for one thing, a huge waste of human potential, Nelson said.

“Those individuals can very well be positive, productive, tax-paying contributing members in society,” he said.

PAM members believe that Truth-in-Sentencing also has contributed to the rising number of incarcerated individuals in Wisconsin.

Scott also is laser-focused on the education available to kids in the juvenile justice system.

She believes that “we have a golden opportunity” to create an effective, robust curriculum for youths incarcerated at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls.

“If we are talking about any kind of rehabilitation and change, it has to start there, and we’re not taking advantage of that,” she added.

Scott said the criminal justice system in Wisconsin is less fair today than it was when PAM was founded in 2007.

PAM is an organization for change, but “change is hard,” she said.

“What you got to do is keep hitting redial,” Scott said.