Part 1
Wisconsin’s Prison, Reentry, and Supervision Machine
An honest look at Wisconsin’s justice machine from someone who lived it: prisons, reentry, supervision, agents, cops, lawyers, PDs, laws, and lawmakers.
Insights · Series
Wisconsin Justice & Reentry
Wisconsin Justice & Reentry is Andrew Drasen's essay series on the state's justice machine as a whole. Prisons and reentry matter. So do agents, cops, prosecutors, public defenders, courts, laws, and lawmakers. Written from lived experience without slogan politics, and aimed at mapping the gears so Wisconsin can change what grinds people up.
Featured pillar
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Part 2
The Bottleneck of Bureaucracy: How Wisconsin Moves the Prison Pressure Around
Wisconsin's prison count fell when courts slowed, then climbed back toward its old peak. Here is how overcrowding, contract beds, and program scarcity move through the same machine.
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Part 3
A Reentry Story: Part 1 - Coming Home After Ten Years
Andrew picks up his friend PG at Racine Correctional Institution after a ten-year sentence. Release clothes, Denny's, a phone, and the difference between support and rescue on day one.
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Part 4
How DAI Scores You Into Max, Medium, and Minimum
Wisconsin DAI classifies people with a point-based custody instrument. Age, a ten-year record, and the current felony add up before a job ever gets a chance to knock one off.
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Part 5
Flock Cameras in Wisconsin: Who Votes, Who Pays, and What's Coming Next
Flock Safety cameras are spreading across Wisconsin towns while councils, sheriffs, and residents fight over who approves them, what they record, and where AI search goes next.