“We can’t punish people into being healthy. We need for families to stay intact and for offenders to be responsible to their communities. We are all better off when people can be healed and made whole through these effective programs that bring accountability to the offender and to the community. Alternative treatment programs work better than incarceration.”
ESTHER is part of the statewide ROC WI (Restore Our Communities) Campaign. The campaign is a movement of people of faith calling for change in the Wisconsin system of incarceration.
Why should faith communities be involved in the work to end mass incarceration?
Featuring reflections from Senator Raphael G. Warnock, Senior Pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and founding member of the Multifaith Initiative to End Mass Incarceration.
Who Should Attend
Leaders and members of congregations from various faith traditions in Wisconsin, those who are engaged in jail and/or prison ministry and want to do more, and those who are ready to partner with faith communities to reduce incarceration rates in Wisconsin.
St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 140 S. Green Bay Rd, Neenah
The ESTHER Prison Reform Task Force along with EXPO will be holding this important listening session and crucial conversation with a representative of the Wisconsin Division of Community Corrections (DCC), elected officials and YOU.
Are you, or do you know someone who is or has been, on probation or parole? Do you live in fear, have anxiety that rules or attitudes could take you back to prison? Do you have thoughts on how re-entry could be improved to make people more successful on Parole or Extended Supervision?
Then please join EXPO and ESTHER at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Neenah for this important conversation regarding community corrections.
“We can’t punish people into being healthy. We need for families to stay intact and for offenders to be responsible to their communities. We are all better off when people can be healed and made whole through these effective programs that bring accountability to the offender and to the community. Alternative treatment programs work better than incarceration.”
ESTHER is part of the statewide ROC WI (Restore Our Communities) Campaign. The campaign is a movement of people of faith calling for change in the Wisconsin system of incarceration.
(These programs will be recorded for later viewing by registrants who cannot attend all sessions.)
In the series, we will learn from experts, including people directly impacted by Wisconsin’s criminal legal system. We will learn about many aspects of the system, including:
Watch recorded video of the first hour of the program here
Sponsored by WISDOM, FREE and EXPO
Program
10 - 11 AM
Public presentation at the North Hearing Room in the State Capitol featuring remarks on Solitary Confinement, TAD, Old Law Parole, and Post-release Issues. Video of this is segment is available here.
1-2 PM
Start of Transformational Justice Convening: Welcome, Reflection, Icebreaker
11 AM - 12 PM
Drop Lit at Legislative offices and the Governor’s Office in the Stated Capitol
2-3 PM
Breakout Sessions by region: Madison Action Day and Joint Finance Committee hearings discussion
12 - 1 PM
Lunch at Grace Episcopal Church, 116 W Washington Ave, Madison
3-4 PM
- Breakout sessions: strategic planning for issue campaigns
- Closing remarks and calls to action
Help spread the word. Download and share the attached flier.
“We can’t punish people into being healthy. We need for families to stay intact and for offenders to be responsible to their communities. We are all better off when people can be healed and made whole through these effective programs that bring accountability to the offender and to the community. Alternative treatment programs work better than incarceration.”
ESTHER is part of the statewide ROC WI (Restore Our Communities) Campaign. The campaign is a movement of people of faith calling for change in the Wisconsin system of incarceration.
St. Joseph Catholic Church, 404 W Lawrence St, Appleton
This event is on both Thursday, May 11 from 10 am - 6 pm and Friday, May 12 from 10 am - 6 pm
To schedule a group or class to experience the cell, contact us at 920-843-8083 or office@esther-foxvalley.org
Special thanks to Fran Nelson for this report on the Transformational Justice Task Force’s Appleton event featuring a replica solitary confinement cell.
ESTHER’s Transformational Justice Task Force organized an educational event and public tour bringing an exact replica of a Solitary Confinement Cell to Appleton on May 11 and 12, 2023. The replica was designed and built by Talib Akbar, a formerly incarcerated man, who has brought it to communnities around the state. This event was meant to increase awareness of the harm of solitary confinement in Wisconsin prisons.
In Appleton, Akbar explained to many citizens and public administrators the severe impact of prolonged isolation (used on both male and female prisoners), including the mentally ill. Akbar was placed in isolation ten different times—the longest was almost two years—during his 20 years in Wisconsin prisons. (More than 15 days in isolation has been defined as torture by the United Nations since 2011.)
Building a Theology of Restoration and Fairness
Join the Transformational Justice Campaign leaders of EXPO and WISDOM for a 5-part Zoom series on mass incarceration in Wisconsin.
ESTHER’s Transformational Justice Task Force organized an educational event and public tour bringing an exact replica of a Solitary Confinement Cell to Appleton on May 11 and 12, 2023. The replica was designed and built by Talib Akbar, a formerly incarcerated man, who has brought it to communnities around the state. This event was meant to increase awareness of the harm of solitary confinement in Wisconsin prisons.
