Man from Milwaukee has to serve “dead time”

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What Gawaine Edwards would like to do in the twelve years he has left in prison and what he can actually do are worlds apart.

“I'm forced to stay in a place that has absolutely nothing to offer me. I'm not learning anything there,” Edwards said.

Edwards cites the abolition of parole in Wisconsin over 20 years ago as the main reason for his predicament.

With some lawmakers proposing reforms, his time and the time of many others is being wasted, Edwards said.

He is not as productive as he would like, does not learn what he would like and, in his opinion, is not being effectively rehabilitated.

“I'm stuck here and I spend all my time dead,” Edwards said.

Edwards has served time in various prisons across the state and is currently incarcerated at the New Lisbon Correctional Institution in Juneau County, the state's central region.

Edwards' backstory

Edwards, who grew up on Milwaukee's north side, was charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and negligent assault in November 2000.

He was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to a total of 35 years in prison and 15 years of extended probation at the age of 22.

As things stand, Edwards will be released from prison in April 2036 at the age of 57.

However, he believes that his debt to society has already been fully paid.

He wants to get out and help his wife more – she is a small business owner and has also been having health problems recently.

He also has adult children with whom he would like to spend more time.

“I never had the chance to become a father because I was locked up,” Edwards said.

What is truth in judgment?

Edwards cannot be released for another 12 years because he committed his crime after the passage of Wisconsin Act 283 in 1997, better known as the Truth in Sentencing Law.

This law changed prison sentences from indefinite to determinate sentences, meaning that the length of time a person must serve is determined by the judge at sentencing and cannot be reduced later by probation.

Wisconsin's truth-in-sentencing law was part of a nationwide trend in which many states passed such laws – with the primary goal of closing what was perceived as a troubling gap between the sentence a person was sentenced to and the time they actually served.

“The policy decisions surrounding these laws were quite similar. They were passed in the 1990s, when tough-on-crime policies were at their peak,” says Michael O'Hear, a law professor at Marquette University Law School and a corrections expert.

While there have been some adjustments to the original law on truth-finding in sentencing, the “basic architecture” has remained the same, O'Hear said.

“The (Wisconsin) Parole Board has no jurisdiction whatsoever to prosecute crimes committed on or after December 31, 1999,” he said.

Given the nature of his crimes, it is unlikely that Edwards will benefit from other opportunities to secure an earlier release.

Those convicted of a violent crime are generally not eligible for sentence modification and release programs, says Jillian Slaight, senior legislative analyst at the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau.

Quantity vs. Quality

However, Edwards still cares about how he spends his time.

He currently spends much of his time working in New Lisbon, earning about 17 cents an hour driving people in wheelchairs to doctor's appointments.

Edwards said he wanted to go to another prison where he could “do something that would benefit me and where I could make money if I got out.”

After more than 20 years in prison, he believes he deserves a chance under a work release program that allows inmates to work outside of prison while continuing to serve their sentences.

Work release programs are designed to improve people's future employability and simply help them earn more money. These programs are available within the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, but only for inmates of minimum security prisons.

New Lisbon is a medium security prison.

Department of Corrections policies explicitly outline how the length of a prison sentence affects a person's detention classification, which in turn determines program eligibility.

Between rock and hard ground

Another factor to consider is that what is theoretically available in prisons does not always correspond to what is actually available.

Two of the vocational training programs that were historically offered in New Lisbon – baking and carpentry – are currently discontinued.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Corrections have cited chronic staff shortages as the reason typical programs and resources are not always available.

Demand for many education and treatment programs exceeds capacity, said Kevin Hoffman, deputy communications director for the Department of Corrections.

“Governor Evers and our leadership have consistently supported funding for new program initiatives,” Hoffman said.

While there are salary increases for security personnel, these increases do not apply to teachers and medical personnel.

Still, Hoffman said, the department offers a “large number” of programming and educational opportunities.

While the department is looking for staff to continue the carpentry and baking work in New Lisbon, a framing course and customer service training are currently underway, Hoffman said.

Current reform efforts

“Those of us on the left know for sure that it (the truth-finding process at the verdict) was a disaster,” said Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee).

Clancy and others argue that truth-telling laws do not help inmates or contribute to public safety.

“I have heard from many current and former correctional officers and people who are or have been incarcerated that truth in sentencing does not contribute to rehabilitation because there is no incentive for good behavior,” said Rep. Darrin Madison, Democrat of Milwaukee. “Instead, it can cause people to lose hope because they know their sentence will not change and all they have left is 'dead time.'”

Both Clancy and Madison are members of the state Assembly's Corrections Committee, which reviews and amends corrections laws.

The Department of Corrections provides a similar analysis to Clancy and Madison.

The ministry also claims that without effective programs and rehabilitation, prisons become more dangerous for both staff and inmates, Hoffman said.

Promoting better decisions

Rep. Jerry O'Connor (R-Fond du Lac), also a member of the Corrections Committee, said in an email that he does not believe rehabilitation was the goal of truth-finding in sentencing.

“Truth-finding in sentencing was introduced to influence decisions and behavior and to prevent people from crossing certain criminal lines,” he said. “As I speak to many inmates over time, I know that truth-finding in sentencing is something they are aware of and try to avoid.”

“In that sense, there is some benefit to the perpetrators in that it encourages them to make better decisions,” O'Connor added.

While O'Connor said he would like to see inmates have earlier access to programs, he said it is also important to “step back and take stock of those who have lost opportunities.”

“How will this victim of sex trafficking ever find normality again,” he said. “The murder victim and his family have lost all prospects for the future.”

Clancy, Madison and other Democratic colleagues proposed a package of 17 bills – the so-called “Conditions of Confinement” package – to, among other things, improve access to programs and other recreational activities for inmates.

The package includes Assembly Bill 771 of 2023, which would guarantee at least three to five hours of programming per person per day and lead to “a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of those currently incarcerated,” Madison said.

This bill was rejected in April.

“People need to take this issue seriously because there are some of us who actually want to do better and are trying to do better, but we are stuck in a system where we can't do that,” Edwards said.

A version of this story was originally published by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

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