MOSES’ James Morgan Talks About OIPM and the Justice System: The Complexities of Reform (Part 1 of 2)
James Morgan who is currently on parole and has lived the issues confronting criminal justice, echoes the refrain from Rodney King, ‘Can’t we just talk?”
by Jonathan Gramling
MOSES, Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity and Solidarity, is part of the WISDOM state effort to end mass incarceration and mass supervision and is also committed to eradicate racial disparities within the Dane County and Wisconsin criminal justice systems. And for the past three years, James Morgan has been their chief community organizer. MOSES is focused in two primary areas.
“MOSES is focused immediately on working with the Office of the Independent Police Monitor and working with Alder Glenn in addressing some of those issues that we know are needed and necessary when it comes to having independent investigators when there are issues with policing in this community,” Morgan said. “That was the Justice and Policing Task Force.”
The other big area is in criminal justice reform.
“And then we have the JSRI, the Justice System Reform Initiative,” Morgan said. “They are working on a number of things within the community. So right now, we’re just paying attention to see where we can be a part of the change that people are calling for in the community. And again, that’s across the board in education, housing and those areas where we can be of assistance. We’re trying to get some of the young people in the community involved in social justice activism. But we’ve been doing fairly well. Recently, I was able to speak with Michael Burch who is the director of The Crossing campus ministry. That’s where my office is located right now. And we have a group on campus that we’re working with called Students Against Mass Incarceration. So we’re moving forward to build the organization, to expand its relevancy in the community and hopefully do some things to that will help change some of the outcomes that we’re all experiencing here in Madison.”
There has been talk in recent years about closing some of Wisconsin’s antiquated prisons. Part of the difficulty of enacting criminal justice reform is that prisons are rooted in the larger community and economic context that surround the prisons.
“Being on the Community Justice Council right now and being in those spaces where those decision makers are, I’ve come to the conclusion that we’re not dealing with criminal justice systems or reform,” Morgan said. “What is actually happening and will have to happen is the restructuring of
these systems. Reform would take a very long time. This system is deeply rooted in our culture and society. That’s not just here in Wisconsin. That’s around the country. And there’s an exorbitant amount of money involved in it. So for there to be significant change, when people are talking about closing prisons for example — we talk about that with Green Bay and Waupun — people fail to realize or look at the long-term consequences or benefits of that because people have been employed through these agencies for decades.
That’s their sustainability. That’s their income. What type of industry would come in and replace those prisons? What will provide an adequate tax base for people to be able to have some sort of healthy lifestyle? That’s going to take decades. We have to talk about the sustainability of those communities. I look at all of those things and I do my best to educate and talk about them with people so that we not only have a realistic view, but also a realistic approach when we are seeking to reform or restructure these systems.”
Morgan is very tuned into the Corey Ruiz shooting. And he is very much concerned with how the incident will be investigated and the ability of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor to get all of the facts surrounding the shooting.
“If they say they want total investigations, let it be by an agency that is independent of law enforcement or these other entities,” Morgan emphasized. “We had the incident with Mr. Ruiz. But we also had the one at the end of last year, Robert Johnson who died in the back of the police cruiser. Those investigations are needed and necessary to build what they say they would like to have and that is trust in the community. So don’t just speak to it, act on it. Show by exercising your authority that you are serious about this. Hire or maintain the Office of the Independent Police Monitor, make sure that it is fully staffed and take it from there. We need transparency. You have your investigators. The independent monitor is something different with full authority and subpoena power and all of those things so that those questions get answered. I heard on the news this morning in regards to the officer who was involved in the shooting of Mr. Ruiz that those officers will be questioned. They won’t be interrogated. It’s a different process in how you get to the facts and the truth. And so I would encourage the mayor and all of these other officials to step into this space with some courage.”
The shooting of Corey Ruiz is the third officer-involved shooting resulting in death that has occurred in the Marquette neighborhood in the last decade. Morgan feels something needs to change.
“This has been going on for far too long with Tony Robinson and others, some that we may not even know about who have suffered injury, maybe not death, at the hands of law enforcement,” Morgan said. “Those things need to be investigated. And there needs to be transparency when you deal with it and what kind of discipline is meted out. If that means firing someone, then you get rid of them. If it means going back and looking at your training policies — because they say officers were following their training — there has to be something wrong with the training if it is causing the loss of life. Let’s look at finding some solutions. I am not naive by any stretch of the imagination. So I recognize that there are some people who don’t want to find a solution. So let’s start with this honesty and transparency by fully funding this office and moving things forward.”
Next Issue: Dane County Jail and Other Criminal Justice Issues