Representative Shae Sortwell is calling on the public to help make a change to the bail system in Wisconsin.
Sortwell told Seehafer News that this referendum would change the state constitution back to how it was prior to a change in the 1980s.
Sortwell explained that “We screwed up our Wisconsin constitution in 1981” when the legislature removed judges’ ability to look at a criminal’s past history when setting bail.
The legislature took action in their first week back in Madison to get this referendum question on the April ballots around the state.
Assemblyman Paul Tittl says that this measure is NOT all-encompassing.
“This is only for violent crimes,” he revealed. “This is not for shoplifting or disorderly conduct, that kind of thing.”
The bail system has been a point of contention in Wisconsin since the Waukesha Christmas parade incident in 2021 where Darrell Brooks ran his truck through the crowd.
After the incident, it was learned that he was out on bail for previous violent crimes.
It should be noted that this measure has been making the rounds in Madison since 2017, well before the tragedy in Waukesha.
