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Writing a Short Literature Review

Taylor Carmain

California Baptist University

This literature review is being used for a multimodal project and research assignment for

incarceration. This particular review will be based around overcrowded population in

Wisconsin’s system. It will be organized into three sections, including three sources. The

sections are Epideictic, Forensic, and Deliberated.

The first three sources represent the Epideictic of the multimodal project. This consists

of what the current problem is.

Corley, Cheryl. "Wisconsin Prisons Incarcerate Most Black Men In U.S." NPR. NPR, 03 Oct. 2013.

Web. 19 Nov. 2017.

<https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/10/03/228733846/wisconsin-prisons-

incarcerate-most-black-men-in-u-s>.

In the article Wisconsin Prisons Incarcerate Most Black Men In U.S written by Cheryl

Corley, it talks about the basic but important facts about the prisons in wisconsin and their

inmate count for black men. Wisconsin is the highest population for black men incarcerated due

to drug offenses. It is nearly double the country's rate, leading by 13%. It spiked during the years

2000-2008. 40% of men that are locked up are locked up for low-level drug offenses.

Davies, Emily. "7 Investigates: Jail Overcrowding." WSAW - Content - News. N.p., 3 July 2017. Web.

19 Nov. 2017. <http://www.wsaw.com/content/news/7-Investigates-Jail-Overcrowding-

432386623.html>.
This article talks about a specific County jail in Marathon County, Wisconsin. This jail

has been overcrowded for 20 years. It has a total of 400 inmates but only has enough to house

250. They did have an expansion in the year 2000, but before they started that, it was over

crowded. This jail has housed inmates in other facilities, anywhere between 100-200 but that cost

is $50 daily for each individual inmate. In this jail 85% of cases are due to drugs, and more

serious cases lead to more jail time.

Marley, Patrick. "Wisconsin's Rising Prison Population Poses Budget Challenges." Milwaukee Journal

Sentinel. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2017. Web. 19 Nov. 2017.

<http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2017/03/17/wisconsins-rising-prison-

population-poses-budget-challenges/99264206/>.

This article talks about the specific problem that has come with overcrowded inmates in

Wisconsin, the budget crisis. According to the article, the state of Wisconsin can be paying over

2 billion dollars if Gov. Scott Walker assumptions are wrong. Wisconsin Prisons alone hold

more than twenty-two thousand adult inmates. If their calculations are correct, prisons could be

holding about 1,200 more inmates in each place by the year 2019. Wisconsin prisons were

designed to only hold 16,300 adults but they are now housing 7,000 times that.

I will be using these sources in order, explaining a direct problem with over crowded,

then into why it’s overcrowded and what they problem is. The framework of these paragraphs

would be set up from data the data being used, to the facts that follows along with the data.
The next three sources are going to be explaining the Forensic. This will be the history,

how did Wisconsin get to the point of overcrowded inmates.

Alliance, Wisconsin Taxpayers. "WisTax: State Prison Population Rising Again." Urban Milwaukee.

N.p., 4 May 2017. Web. 19 Nov. 2017. <http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2017/05/04/wistax-state-

prison-population-rising-again/>.

In this article, it talks about the population rising again, giving an insight as how it was

before vs. now. The number of inmates has rose from 3.4% from 2013-2016 after a decline of

3.2% three years previous to that. In 2006 inmates under the age of 29 was about 33% of

inmates. Inmates serving five or more years from 2006 was around 36%. Nearly a third of

correction officials were offenders that were coming off from violating rules and not being good

supervisions.

Department of Corrections. "Department History." DOC Department History. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov.

2017. <https://doc.wi.gov/Pages/AboutDOC/DepartmentHistory.aspx>.

This sight gives a detailed timeline of the corrections department’s history from the very

beginning to 2002.

U.S.News. "Wisconsin Prison Population Edging Toward New Record." N.p., 1 May 2017. Web.

<https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2017-05-01/wisconsin-prison-

population-edging-toward-new-record+>.

In this article written by a Wisconsin news article it goes into talking about how prisons

are reaching a new record high from the past. According to this article, by June 2019 Wisconsin
will have a total of over 23 thousand inmates. The inmate population was at a steady growth until

2008 where they started to see drastic changes. It is expected to cost wisconsin over 1.1 billion in

the next two years.

These sources will be used from the very beginning history to what is happening

currently with a new governor. It will help set up exactly where the problem went wrong, what

they already did to try and solve it, and suggestions to what the next section is, what they could

do, or try again to not repeat history.

The next three articles represent deliberated, advocacy. These three articles will talk

about where should Wisconsin go next in correcting the problem. It will also cover the first and

third articles mentioned because there was insight on how to change the problem.

In the very first article mentioned, Wisconsin Prisons Incarcerate Most Black Men In the

U.S. by Cheryl Corley, It talks about how John Chisholm, A Milwaukee Attorney has a plan to

help this situation. It states that he says there's nothing there to help these inmates move on with

their future. He calls it a lack of opportunity. He says they need to set up rehabilitation programs

because that can help set up keeping people out of prisons, instead of pulling more in. They are

working on getting money for transition jobs, education, to help the prisoners move on after

prison instead of recommitting and reentering.

In the third article, Wisconsin’s rising prison population poses budget challenges by the

Milwaukee Journey It talks about the chairman of corrections, Michael Schraa wants to help

create a new alcohol treatment program to help offenders get out and stay out of jails. He wants
to convert the state’s juvenile prison into a place for adult inmates to go. The governor, Scott

Walker is looking to decrease cost by creating a program to letting 200-250 inmates leave early

yearly, that were there for very small offends.

Mills, Emily. "Emily's Post: Wisconsin's Overcrowded Prisons Aren't Rehabilitating Inmates." Isthmus |

Madison, Wisconsin. N.p., 04 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2017.

<http://isthmus.com/archive/emilys-post/emilys-post-wisconsins-overcrowded-prisons-arent-

rehabilitating-inmates/>.

In this article, Wisconsin’s Overcrowded Prisons Aren’t Rehabilitating Inmates.” By

Emily Mills, she talks about how they should create jobs instead of trying to make more beds.

Mills talks about how they need to create solid plan that would release non-violent offenders

earlier. She would go about that way by with what Gov. Doyle had attempted to do. Which was a

pass of Wisconsin Act 28. It would have created a system that would have released inmates that

needed to go, resulting in less crowded.

WI Budget Project. "With Wisconsin Prisons Overcrowded, Officials Want to Pay More to Counties to

House State Prisoners." Daily Kos. N.p., 3 Oct. 2016. Web. 19 Nov. 2017.

<https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/3/1577315/-With-Wisconsin-Prisons-Overcrowded-

Officials-Want-to-Pay-More-to-Counties-to-House-State-Prisoners>.

In this article, With Wisconsin Prisons Overcrowded, Officials want to Pay More to

Counties to House State Prisoners by the Daily Kos, it talks about how the department of

corrections gave the idea of spending 40 million to expand contracts to allow more room to
house state inmates. They projected this as a program that would allow additional projected

population.

State Bar of Wisconsin. "Mar 01, 2015." WisBar. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2017.

<http://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/WisconsinLawyer/Pages/Article.aspx?Volume=88&I

ssue=3&ArticleID=23928>.

In this article by the State Bar of Wisconsin, It talks about how they want to do early

release for the good behaved inmates. They call this good time credits. They want to bring these

good time credits back because of the booming rates the Wisconsin prisons have been facing

with inmate population.

These articles will be organized in a way of the oldest ideas to the newest ideas that have

presented. I want to add in what has worked and what hasn’t including bills that were tried

passed, and bills that they are trying to pass to help this problem.

With these articles found, it brings together evidence that there is a problem, where the

problem started and where the problem can end if people of Wisconsin come together to find a

conclusion for overcrowded population. This particular problem shows that it’s personal,

locatable, measurable, and debatable.

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