Most actions Gov. Scott Walker takes, I attribute to two things: Either he is trying to cut the budget or is generally misinformed about his actions. Or, most likely, it’s some combination of the two. However, there’s one recent move I think Walker actually planned on. Appleton’s Post-Crescent reported that Walker has not granted any pardons so far in office and has no plans to do so in the future. This brazen strategy may be nothing more than a public relations tactic for the unpopular governor to look tough on crime. However, as is the trend in this administration, it is to the detriment of Wisconsin citizens.
No governor in recent history – whether Democrat or Republican – has refused to hand down any pardons. Furthermore, Walker dismissed the Pardon Advisory Board, which has been in place since Republican Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus created it in 1980. Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie assured constituents that Walker could still convene the board in the future, and that Walker’s legal team is now handling the pardons. The team, which is relatively small and already handling other business, is now tasked with hundreds of pardon applications.
Walker’s track record of no new pardons so far pales in comparison to the 177 pardons Doyle passed in his last year in office. Secretary of State Doug LaFollette is the custodian of pardon records and views them as “a legitimate way for people to analyze the record of people and the potential of them to be rehabilitated and become productive citizens.” Some behaviors previously considered illegal have been overturned. For example, one of the first sentences Doyle overturned was the 1958 felony conviction of a man who went to jail for having sex with another man. Homosexuality was illegal then, and it is certainly deserving of a pardon now.
Other pardons are important for those who committed petty crimes in their youth but now look to have a fulfilling and law-abiding life. Convictions undoubtedly close doors, and doing time does not always clear up a felony’s long-reaching ramifications, as former felons try to live a normal life. According to Werwie, though, Walker “believes these decisions are best left up to the courts.” The courts, however, cannot deal with the fact that those convicted of minor drug crimes in the 1990s now cannot receive federal aid for school, or that Roland Rybarczyk, convicted of riding in a stolen car in 1965, now cannot own a gun for hunting. Only a pardon can right these wrongs, but with Walker in office, there are no pardons to be had.
It can’t have been a money saving technique, since surely the small board didn’t require much in the way of salaries, and fat could have been trimmed elsewhere to keep the only pardon reviewers in the state. Nor could it have been that Walker was generally unaware about granting pardons. How could he be? With the pardon application still on his website and no pardon review board to go over the materials, his office must be swamped by requests.
Between slashing cuts to schools, undermining collective bargaining rights, assaulting health care and failing to create significant jobs, it’s a wonder Walker’s approval rating is still counted in positive integers. The man’s got to do something to gain a little support. So when you’re down in the numbers, what else is there to do but try to look tough on crime? This is exactly what Walker is trying now, by having effectively dissolved the only legislative body that considers pardons.
These tactics are a measured risk. In Walker’s mind, he’ll succeed if he gains a precious few approval points or changes the mind of a few voters. He’ll think he’s failed if the public ignores the gesture. In reality, though, failing to grant pardons fails us all.
Even if Walker thinks his strategy has worked, he’s failed his duties as a governor by not using his powers to grant pardons. As reported by the Post-Crescent, Professor David Littig of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay said it best when he called this move “the neglect of a constitutional duty of a governor.” Walker is breaking a long-standing tradition by dismissing the board and ignoring applications, for no other reason than personal gain.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in human evolutionary biology, archaeology and Latin American studies.
