Dewitt Faulkner a model for other prisoners

 Dewitt Faulkner 398508 RCI                        

Dewhite Faulker

 I know Dewitt from his inspirational writings mostly and that he has done all he can to be a positive influence to those around him . He has never given up his claim of innocence and was given a heavy sentence as his supposed co- conspirators testified against him to gain their own freedom. 

His story is below and we  contend that he deserves a second chance as he has done so well with his time. Innocent or not, he

has paid his debt. '

summations of his conviction story:

Dewitt is new world, got a bifurcated sentence totaling 59

years on four counts, the largest of which is reckless homicide. His story is that he was not

there, that he tried to tell his two associates that they were idiots and he didn't want to get

involved, but they went and did it anyway. They say he practically made him do it. One of the

two associates felt cheated on a drug deal, and wanted to extract compensation from the guy

who sold him cocaine that was too adulterated to make into crack, so they went armed to

where he was staying with his grandma, hoping to take his cash. One of the guys says he got

cold feet and decided to just start firing at the house with his shotgun so they would have to

leave. The house was brick and had bars on the windows but one slug managed to find a

window, avoid the bars, and ricochet down the one east-west hallway in the house right to

where the grandma was standing. It hit her in the chest and killed her instantly. Faulkner is

alleged to have made a couple of shots with a .22 while they retreated. The two co-defendants

got deals to testify against him, and then when there was a retrial, got deals not just to testify

but to give the same testimony again. The evidence included a gun that was allegedly seen by

an officer when he entered the property without a warrant and without probable cause, looking

for a co-defendant who was not there.

Coming are some of his writings

His case also points up the failures of Truth in Sentencing(T-I-S), The law that came in after 2000 which gives strict sentencing guidelines and long sentences, allowing little discretion to the judge.  

In contrast the law T-I-S replaces , Parole , gaves long sentences but the prisoner was eligible for parole after one quarter of the sentence IF his/her behavior was good. This system worked and relied on rehabilitation supported by good programs and even college grants. the prison was not overcrowded and working conditions for guards were relatively good. The mission " to rehabilitate inmates and keep the public safe," was honored. It was not perfect but honest effort to help those incarcerated was there . 

With truth in sentencing, we went for 7000 to 22000 prisoners in a few decades and taxpayers money shifted from supporting education to supporting the prison system- WI instate tuition went from a few hundred a semester to 10,000, we now give twice the money to the prison sytem we do to education, 

Dewhite's case shows the failure of this system- We are working to end TIS and replace it with a working parole system along with changes in rules and law that demand and get accountability of the WIDOC  not just the prisoners,