Wisconsin: Families, experts wary of Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to abolish Parole Commission

[TomSea]

Families, experts wary of Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to abolish Parole Commission
Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism 12:04 a.m. CT March 5, 2017

Beverly Walker doubts that the governor’s plan to abolish the Wisconsin Parole Commission will add efficiency to a sluggish system, and she suspects it would make qualifying for parole even more difficult.

Her husband, Baron Walker, has been imprisoned for nearly 22 years on a 60-year sentence for two armed bank robberies. Since 2011, he has been eligible for parole under Wisconsin’s old sentencing scheme, which allowed inmates to petition for release after serving one-fourth of their time.

Baron Walker has met required conditions for behavior and all programming that has been recommended, including a high school equivalency degree and vocational training, according to a 2015 report from the Parole Commission. He now resides in the minimum security Oakhill Correctional Institution, whose primary focus is to “prepare offenders for release into the community.”

“You take full responsibility for your crimes and for the harm you have caused the victims and others. You have engaged in a considerable amount of positive growth and maturity during this incarceration,” the report stated.

Continued: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/investigations/2017/03/05/families-experts-wary-gov-scott-walkers-plan-abolish-parole-commission/98604556/