by Glenn Minnis
The fate of a Republican sponsored bill that seeks to compel the state’s parole commission to post its decisions online about who has been granted and denied parole is now in the hands of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.
By a 29-4 vote, the Senate recently advanced the measure with some changes after an earlier version of it previously passed the Assembly on the strength of bipartisan support. Under the parameters of the newly proposed measure, the Department of Corrections would be required to post the names of individuals granted parole, denied parole or returned to prison following the revocation of parole.
The state would also be required to post monthly and annual aggregate totals for each of those categories. Currently, postings do not list the names of parole applicants under consideration.
Republican lawmakers took exception with some of the work of the commission after members decided to parole convicted murderer Douglas Balsewicz in 2022 after he served just over one-fourth of an 80-year sentence for the stabbing death of his wife.
Over time, the victim’s family insisted that they were only notified about the decision to parole him a few days before he was set to be released.
Ultimately, Parole Commission chairperson John Tate moved to invalidate Balsewicz’s parole at Evers’ request. He later resigned a few weeks later, again at the governor’s request.
Evers has not publicly indicated whether he plans to officially sign the bill into law.
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Glenn Minnis is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Tony Evers” by Campaign of Tony Evers for Governor. CC BY 3.0. Backgound Photo “Wisconsin State Capitol” by Vijay Kumar Koulampet. CC BY-SA 3.0.
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I don’t understand the problem. The crime, the police report, is public information. The court hearing and the sentence is public information. Most states have a case search program where the public can review. States, like California, publish parole hearings and decisions. The only caveat is those not party to the crime cannot attend the parole hearing. This is all public information so what is the issue publishing the disposition in the recognized county newspaper(s)?