New prison plan in Green Bay drawing criticism from many

WI prisons house 23,000, while 25 years ago that number was 7,000. 

Critics are lining up against building a new prison in Wisconsin.

A plan on the table in Madison is to replace the ancient, 19th century prison in Green Bay with something new and bigger.

It’s the wrong approach, according to Lutheran pastor John Mix, a former jail chaplain, who spoke out against the new prison at a public hearing Thursday.

Making room for more criminals is going in the wrong direction for the state, he told state senators

“We will never incarceration our way out of this public health crisis,” he said. “People are there in large part, 80 percent of the reason they show up in jail, is related to addiction or mental illness.”

Mix, like many other critics of the prison plan, said spending more on drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services would be way more cost effective and better for society.

State prisons currently house 23,000 inmates. It was less than 7,000 25 years ago.

Mix and others are also urging lawmakers to examine statutes to see whether current mass incarceration policies in the state should be abandoned.