A study finds racial disparities in Wisconsin criminal sentences. Kristi Waits is executive director of the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission . Analysis of three years of sentencing data finds some racial disparities, not in length of terms, but in whether or not prison time was served behind bars, what's known as the "in/out" decision. The amount of racial disparity in sentencing increased as the severity of the crimes decreased. Waits says more data will be needed. The sentencing commission is slated to sunset at the end of this year, although Governor Doyle's budget has proposed a Bureau of Criminal Justice Research to continue compiling findings. Waits says the legislature needs to look at this study, because changes are needed in the way the state sentences some criminals.
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