Friend –

We've accomplished great things in the past few years in our Smart Justice campaign, and now, we're zeroing back in on one of our core goals – ending the harmful practice of crimeless revocation.

Crimeless revocation sends thousands of Wisconsinites to prison each year for breaking exclusively technical rules of community supervision, minor violations like missing an appointment, borrowing money, or getting a job without prior approval from the state.

Revocation is the most significant driver of new prison admission in Wisconsin. The Department of Corrections (DOC) does not track crimeless revocations individually but includes crimeless revocation in its classification of revocation-only admissions.

Since 2000, revocations accounted for 34 percent of all new prison admissions. In 2020, that number jumped to 38.8 percent. Crimeless revocation is a misguided, expensive, and cruel policy that needlessly disrupts the lives of thousands while not making Wisconsin any safer.

As we move our work seeking to end crimeless revocation in the state forward, we need your help. Here are a few things you can do to support us in this work:

• Attend an event. We'll be hosting 'Ending Crimeless Revocation' Mobilization Events. At these events, we will overview why crimeless revocation negatively impacts the community and provide you with information on how we will end crimeless revocation together.

  These virtual gatherings will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: September 29, October 27, November 17, and December 15.

  More details and registration info. Please note: This link will take you to a third-party website, facebook.com.

• Sign our petition. Tell your legislators that you support the end of crimeless revocation in Wisconsin by joining others and signing our petition. Add your name.

• Send a message to your elected officials. If you want to tell your elected officials that you stand with us and wish to end crimeless revocation, we've made it easy for you to do that. Message your elected official and ask them to stop crimeless revocation in Wisconsin.

Thanks for supporting our Smart Justice Campaign and the ACLU of Wisconsin,

Tomás Clasen
Advocacy Director, ACLU of Wisconsin