Prosecutorial power, tracking the ex-incarcerated; resistance at Indigenous boarding schools; Guardsman at Capitol assault; Black zookeepers allege toxic workplace
Of note: This week we highlight the first three episodes of our new investigative podcast and web series in collaboration with WPR. Open and Shut shines a light on the power of the prosecutor — and its impact on victims, the accused and the justice system. Phoebe Petrovic of Wisconsin Watch spent three years examining the actions of two former prosecutors in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley, former Outagamie County District Attorney Vince Biskupic and former Winnebago County District Attorney Joe Paulus. For a long time, they got away with bending the rules — sometimes with lasting and tragic consequences.
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Prosecution included questionable witnesses, racial stereotype, in 2000 arson trial of Dale Chu
Wisconsin Watch/WPR — April 20, 2022
Dale Chu claims he was wrongfully convicted of arson by Biskupic for a fire at his parents’ dry cleaning business in Appleton. Wisconsin Watch and WPR found questionable behavior in his case and six other prosecutions by Biskupic during the 1990s and 2000s.
Read and listen to the first three episodes of Open and Shut here.
Sex offenders placed on lifetime GPS tracking fight reinterpretation of Wisconsin law
Cap Times — April 20, 2022
Benjamin Braam returned home from work on an October day in 2018 to find a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections in his mailbox. It ordered him to start wearing an electronic GPS ankle bracelet within five days — and he’d have to wear it for the rest of his life.
‘Our ancestors risked their lives and freedom’: Archived documents reveal covert resistance to boarding school assimilation
Indian Country Today — April 18, 2022
During a recent visit to the old Bad River mission grounds and the Mother House of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Odanah, Wisconsin, reporter Mary Annette Pember found insights into how her Ojibwe ancestors worked within a rigid system of oppression to preserve and pass along their culture and language.
Racism, dead penguins and retaliation: Why the Vilas Zoo lost its only Black zookeepers
Wisconsin State Journal — April 16, 2022
The resignations this year of the only Black zookeepers at Vilas Zoo have led to a review of the workplace environment at various Dane County departments after the departing zookeepers accused management of racism, neglecting animal welfare, unequal discipline and retaliation.
Source: Guardsman who rioted on Jan. 6 being removed from service, but still drawing a paycheck
Military.com — April 16, 2022
A Wisconsin National Guardsman who pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 is being removed from the military, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. However, he has been allowed to continue his military training and is still receiving a paycheck from the state.
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