Senators say they’ve found a compromise on John Doe law

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Two state senators say they’ve found a compromise on the issue of charging prison guards who are accused of assaulting inmates.

Wisconsin has had a John Doe law since 1839, which says judges shall charge corrections officers if prisoners bring them abuse complaints.

But Democrats, Sen. Pat Kreitlow, Chippewa Falls, and Sen. Lena Taylor, Milwaukee, want to change the word “shall” to “may,” thus giving judges more discretion.

The issue first came up last year, after a Dodge County judge said he had to charge a Waupun guard against his better judgment.

Republican legislators then tried but failed to let district attorneys decide whether those guards should be charged.

Prisoner advocates said it would have effectively ended the inmates’ recourse against abuse, since the DA’s are the ones who prosecuted those people in the first place.

Now, Kreitlow says both guards and inmates would be better protected by letting a judge do the right thing in each individual case.

State Employees’ Union director Marty Beil says it would remove a “sword hanging over the head” of prison guards, while guaranteeing prisoners’ rights to bring legitimate abuse complaints to a judge.

Tags: wisconsin news, john doe law, compromise