Tim Michels says he'll appoint parole commission head whose goal isn't to cut prison population

WEST BEND – Wisconsin's Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels says he wants to appoint a chair of the Wisconsin Parole Commission who will shift the current "aggressive goal of cutting in half the prison population."

"We need to have a shift in the cultural thinking of the parole commission," Michels said during a news conference Monday at the West Bend Sheriff's Department. Michels added he would not stop the process of parole.

Michels has made crime the cornerstone of his campaign for governor and repeatedly criticized Democratic Gov. Tony Evers over the parole of state inmates who had been convicted of violent crimes.

Governors appoint the head of the commission but do not make individual parole decisions.

Evers' campaign spokesman Sam Roecker accused the Michels campaign of fear-mongering.

“Tim Michels is trying to scare voters with outrageous and dishonest claims about the governor’s record," Roecker said. "The Parole Commission is an independent agency and the governor does not have control over individual releases."

Last week, West Bend resident Floyd Marlow was re-arrested after being released on parole in January, after serving 22 years of a 40-year sentence for murdering a Milwaukee man in 1999.

Marlow was charged in Washington County Circuit Court on Oct. 21 with possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a concealed weapon, operating a firearm while intoxicated, as a repeater, and operating while intoxicated.

As of Monday morning, Marlow was still in jail unable to post the $7,500 bail, said Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis.

"I've asked Gov. Evers to pause the paroles," Michels said. "Clearly, it's reckless to let out half of the prison population. There's 21,000 people incarcerated in Wisconsin, he's let out over 1,000. He wants to let out between 9,000 and 10,000 more."

Marlow's release was discretionary, meaning the Wisconsin Parole Commission decided he was eligible for release.

More:What to know about parole, truth in sentencing and when people can get out of prison in Wisconsin

Marlow's arrest was first reported by the conservative website Wisconsin Right Now, which has been publishing stories about criminals being paroled under Evers for more than a month.

Wisconsin Right Now, based in Hubertus, sued the Wisconsin Parole Commission last month under the state open records law for details detailing who has been paroled in 2022.

By law, a person is eligible for parole after serving 25% of their sentence. Those individuals sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed before July 1, 1988, become eligible for parole after serving 13 years and four months in prison.

In general, people serving non-life sentences are required by law to be released on parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence in prison.

Parole decisions only come into play for those who were sentenced for crimes committed before Dec. 31, 1999. The truth-in-sentencing system in place since 2000 requires individuals to serve every day of their sentence, with a judge determining how much is served behind bars and how much under community supervision.

Parole became a campaign issue in the spring when the family of a woman slain by Douglas Balsewicz began a public campaign against his scheduled parole.

Balsewicz stabbed his estranged wife at her West Allis home more than 40 times in 1997 in the presence of the couple's two young children. He was granted parole after serving less than 25 years of an 80-year sentence.

During the gubernatorial debate on Oct. 14, Evers pointed out that he called for the resignation of Parole Board Chairman John Tate II following the release.

During the debate, Evers said there are many issues in the state's criminal justice system that could be helped with an increase in shared revenue for local law enforcement.

More:Michels widely misses mark with claim on Walker, Evers and parole

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tim Michels says he would appoint tougher head of parole commission