Evers defends record on crime, paroles

Sep. 27—EAU CLAIRE — As Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels continues to press Gov. Tony Evers on crime issues and demanded a halt to all paroles in the state, Evers defended his record during a stop in Eau Claire on Monday.

In a prominent Chippewa Valley court case, John Stender was sentenced in Chippewa County Court in September 2021 to serve three years in prison for his role in the crash that killed three Girl Scouts and a mother in a November 2018 crash. Stender was a passenger in the vehicle, and was convicted of harboring or aiding a felon. However, Stender was released on extended supervision last month, according to Department of Corrections records, having served just 11 months of the three-year prison term. Evers said he was aware of the case, but added he had nothing to do with the early release.

"People on parole, that is not my decision," Evers said after concluding a tour of UW-Eau Claire campus. "I understand the concerns, but it's not like Evers is standing there, opening the jail door. The rhetoric around that is discouraging, because it doesn't solve anything."

While the governor decides who is granted a pardon, he does not control paroles. That is done by the four-member parole commission that is given independent authority under state law to determine whether an inmate is eligible after serving a certain portion of their sentence. The governor appoints the chair of the commission, who is subject to confirmation by the state Senate. The state's parole commission has granted about 460 discretionary paroles not required by law, something that both Republican and Democratic governors before Evers also routinely granted.

"Some of the folks, there is a mandatory release, and that is set in state statute," Evers added about parole cases.

Michels has been hitting Evers as being soft on crime, accusing the Democrat in a letter last week of sympathizing with and coddling "brutal, convicted criminals." Michels has been attacking Evers both over his parole policies and his response to violent protests in Kenosha two years ago that followed the shooting of Black man Jacob Blake by a white police officer.

In June, Wisconsin Parole Commission Chairman John Tate resigned, a month after Evers made a hasty appeal to Tate in the midst of Republican criticism over parole plans for a convicted murderer.

Evers meets with students

Evers sat in a UW-Eau Claire classroom with 30 students and fielded questions for more than 30 minutes. Students asked questions about funding for mental health issues, protecting the environment, increasing the minimum wage and expanding health care.

One student asked about critical race theory and possibly banning books. Evers responded by talking about Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II, and some of the ugly history of the country.

"Shouldn't we learn about that?" Evers asked. "To me, (critical race theory) is code for letting people divide us."

Evers added that most school boards in the state haven't given in to pressure to stop teaching certain subjects.

After meeting with the students, Evers said he routinely visits college campuses but doesn't get a chance enough to hear from students.

"They get right at what they see every single day," Evers said.

Matthew Lehner, president of the UW-Eau Claire College Democrats, said he pulled together the 30 students from student leaders, the LGBTQ population, and from minorities on campus.

"It's a good representation of who we are as a student body," Lehner said. "We're excited to have him here and listen to students about the issues they bring up."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.