Wisconsin Senate Democrat candidate and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes falsely claimed during Thursday night’s debate that he is not soft on crime.
“It is absurd when people say I am soft on crime or I am not serious about issues,” Barnes claimed.
Barnes’s record says otherwise. Barnes wrote the bill in the state legislature to eliminate cash bail and made it his goal to cut the prison population by half, releasing violent criminals back on the streets, thinking it is “sexy.”
Barnes has allowed at least 884 convicted criminals back onto the streets by releasing them on parole, according to Wisconsin Right Now.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), left, and his Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes take notes before a televised debate, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) ripped Barnes for his prison policies. “They’ve already reduced it 15 percent. And they’ve paroled about 884 criminals. You’d think they start with nonviolent. No. Only 11 percent were nonviolent – about 100 criminals,” he said.
When asked in 2018 if he thought the inmate population could be cut in half, Barnes replied, “Absolutely! That’s something that happens over time.”
Barnes has also denounced U.S. policing policies on Russia Today (RT), a state-run propaganda channel in 2015 and 2016.
Recent polls show Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is leading the race over Barnes by six points 26 days from election day.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.