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Wisconsin DOJ launches new review of clergy and faith leader abuse

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A new statewide initiative, led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, will review reports of clergy and faith leader abuse.

Victim advocates including Peter Isely of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, were on hand for a press conference Tuesday. “I know how difficult it’s going to be for many of you to come forward again,” Isely said “I want you to know, this time is different.”

District Attorneys from counties where Catholic dioceses are headquartered will participate in what AG Josh Kaul calls a “victim-centered” process. “And that’s why it’s so important, that we had people here, who had worked on this issue for years and years, to talk about how this is different from what people may have experienced before, and why it safe for people to report.”

“This is a big moment,” said Milwaukee County DA John Chisholm. “This is a moment when we recognize that we have to wrap out arms around victims of clergy abuse, in the same way that we would wrap our arms around a victim of family violence in Milwaukee.”

While Kaul stressed that the effort is not exclusively focused on the Catholic Church, the review will include the archdioceses of Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse, Green Bay and Superior.

A spokesman for the Milwaukee archdiocese said they were part of a meeting with Kaul on Monday, and that “the publicity has the potential to re-victimize individuals.

Information can be reported online, at SupportSurvivors.widoj.gov or by calling 1-877-222-2620.

 

Assembly Task Force on Racial Disparities delivers final report

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The State Assembly’s Task Force on Racial Disparities has released its final report after 7 months of work.

That panel was formed in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, and Madison Assemblywoman Sheila Stubbs says it’s a good start at solving issues in Wisconsin. 

“We are hoping in the month of May that bills are introduced, and in the month of June bills are passed in both houses, and I’m hoping that Governor Evers signs 17 recommendations into law! That would be huge!”

Among the bill’s recommendations is making it a crime for fellow officers to stand by when another officer is using excessive force. One topic that was not addressed was that amount of force would be, and Stubbs says they’re going back to discuss and codify that for the Legislature as well. 

“And when that’s done I really think that our colleagues on both side of the aisle will listen,” says Stubbs.

It’s unclear if Republicans controlling the legislature would pick up the recommendations and pass them into laws, but Stubbs is hopeful to see bills passed by the Governor later this year. 

 

Wisconsin DOJ to perform full investigation of clergy abuse

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The Wisconsin Department of Justice is launching an investigation into clergy abuse at Wisconsin’s Catholic Dioceses.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obtained a letter from Attorney General Josh Kaul that was sent to the state’s five dioceses laying out his intent to do a full investigation and determine the scope of the abuse.

The letter goes on to request a meeting with the leaders of the dioceses next Monday to discuss the investigation, and requests that Catholic leadership preserve all documents and information.

The Church has previously released lists of priests and other clergy known to have abused people, but never listed out who the victims might be or how many of them there are.

Senator Johnson claims leftists, anarchists are to blame for attack on US Capitol

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At Tuesday’s Senate Homeland Security hearing on the January 6th riots at the US Capitol, Senator Ron Johnson claimed that the attack was carried out not by Trump supporters but by leftists and anarchists.

Johnson said that the people who attended President Trump’s rally that day were peaceful.

“Many of the marchers were families with small children, many were elderly, overweight or just plain tired or frail. Traits not typically attributed to the riot prone. Many wore pro-police shirts or carried pro police black and blue flags. Plainclothes militants, agents provocateurs, fake Trump protesters, and then disciplined uniformed column of attackers. I think these are the people that probably planned this.”

Criminal charges against those who have been arrested paint different pictures, with many of those arrested being longtime Trump supporters, and members of radical groups like the Proud Boys or other white nationalist organizations. 

Johnson also read an excerpt from an article that claimed that lack of action by the Capitol Police was to blame for the severity of the attacks. 

“‘When we crossed 1st Street Northwest and entered the Capitol grounds where the Capitol Police have jurisdiction I noticed no police at all. Several marchers expressed surprise. The openness seemed like a courtesy gesture from Congress, which controls security.'”

Testimony from the hearing painted a different picture, where miscommunication between federal agencies led to a lack of preparedness by the police force.

UW-Madison expert says simply increasing public defender pay is not enough to fix criminal justice issues

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Last week in Milwaukee, President Biden said he’d like to increase the funding available to public defenders across the country.

John Patrick Gross with the UW-Madison Public Defender Project says it will take more than just more money to help balance criminal justice in the country.

“People like to sort of tongue-in-cheek say that ‘Freedom isn’t free.’ Well, neither is justice but we treat it as if we can always skimp on Justice.”

Gross says throwing more money at the issue won’t stop the root cause of not having enough attorneys to represent people. “We should be taking a hard look at the policies, the practices, the funding discrepancies that have gotten us to the point where we leave the world in per capita incarceration.”

Gross says that most people who enter the justice system don’t have the money to hire attorneys as it is, so having public defenders needs to be treated like an integral part of the system.

DNR sturgeon chief accused of taking part in illegal caviar scheme

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The man in charge of the state’s sturgeon fishery is being accused of obstructing an investigation into DNR staffers illegally selling eggs to caviar processors.

The DNR and staff from the US Fish and Wildlife Service say that staff in the fisheries department have been providing sturgeon eggs that had been collected from spearers as ‘research samples’ to processors in exchange for gifts and cash.

Wardens say that sturgeon fisheries chief Ryan Koenigs confessed to taking part in the scheme, after allegedly lying to investigators during the process. A former fisheries supervisor says the scheme has been going on for years.

Judge decides not to impose punishments on Rittenhouse over bond violation

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A judge will not be punishing accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse for an apparent bond violation.

Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder on Thursday denied requests from prosecutors to either issue an arrest warrant or raise the bond of 18-year-old Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse’s attorneys gave the court a false address when he originally filed the 2 million dollar cash bond by which he’s been released. That address has been updated, but won’t be entered into the public record because Rittenhouse’s family says doing so would put him in danger. 

Supreme Court denies appeal in Slenderman stabbing case

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The State Supreme Court has denied an appeal from one of the girls convicted in the Slenderman stabbings.

Attorneys for Morgan Geyser argued that the original judges in the case made a mistake by allowing Geyser and Anissa Weier to be brought immediately into adult court when they were charged in the case, and that police did not advise Morgan of her Miranda rights before she made statements to them following her arrest.

Judges in the Second District said that overwhelming evidence outside of her statements would have led to Geyser’s conviction anyways, and that the crime of attempted murder was serious enough to be brought to adult court. The Supreme Court did not comment in their denial.

Geyser will remain committed to a mental institute for 40 years.

Judge increases restrictions on bond of accused Kenosha shooter

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A judge has increased restrictions on the bond of accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse.

Photos posted to social media earlier this month showed Rittenhouse drinking at a bar in Kenosha and flashing white supremacist signs.

Rittenhouse is now barred from drinking alcohol or from associating with anyone from known hate groups. He is also forbidden from possessing any weapons.

Rittenhouse’s attorney did not contest the change in bond. He remains free on a 2 million dollar bond.

Beware of scammers offering to get you a COVID-19 vaccine for cash, says DATCP

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The state’s consumer protection division has been getting reports of scammers trying to trick people into paying to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Administrator Lara Sutherlin says those scams have come in various forms, from spam emails to robocalls to text messages.

Sutherlin says these claims fall squarely into the realm of ‘too good to be true’.

“What’s clear is you cannot pay someone to get on a list to get it faster and that’s what the scammers are often telling folks.”

“So if you’re getting unsolicited emails or texts or phone calls from people and entities telling you we can get you the vaccine and we can get it faster, you should ignore those emails.”

If you’re worried about getting a vaccine, contact your doctor or insurance company, and never ever pay someone who calls you out of the blue asking for gift cards, prepaid debit cards or money orders.