Prisons

Federal prison population throughout the years (CHART)

COVID rate in Wisconsin prisons 5 times higher than state

Calvin Johnson spent his final weeks at Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution wracked in pandemic anxiety, a former cellmate recalled. He closely tracked COVID-19's spread in and outside of the medium-security state prison — eyeing infection counts in surrounding Crawford County and across Wisconsin.

Supporters, opponents argue racial preconceptions skew pretrial assessments

As calls for racial justice intensify throughout the country, so have efforts to reform aspects of the criminal justice system, including pretrial-detention practices that keep hundreds of thousands of legally innocent people behind bars.

Police shooting spotlights police spending in Wisconsin

When the sun rose on Kenosha on Aug. 26, former Marine Tim Thompkins said his hometown felt like a battlefield. Smoke lingered in the air from buildings and cars set ablaze the night before. Empty tear gas canisters and pepper bullets littered the streets. Homes were boarded up, and businesses ravaged.

Report: Record number of adults in Wisconsin prisons

A new report shows the number of adults in Wisconsin prisons reached a record high last year.

State’s juvenile prisons struggle to change course

Pandora Lobacz was trying to assert control of her classroom at Lincoln Hills youth prison when she ordered an inmate pacing in front of her desk to return to his seat.

Committee OKs bills sending more kids to troubled prison

The Assembly Corrections Committee has approved two Republican bills that could send more kids to Wisconsin's troubled youth prison for longer stints.

Tougher sentencing has prison population edging toward new record

Wisconsin's prisons are on track for a record number of inmates by 2019 as violent crime edges upward.