The Wisconsin Innocence Project is ending the year with some key victories including helping with the release of two men who each spent decades in prison but the wins highlight a long-standing systemic problem.

David Bintz spent 25 years in prison and Manuel Cucuta spent 27 years in prison. Both were sentenced to life in prison, despite glaring holes in their cases.

Christopher Lau, associate clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, noted as remarkable as their releases have been, it speaks to a greater systemic issue coloring most of their cases and reinforces what it was designed to do.

"Part of this is just historical, the way our policing and incarceration system evolved was from basically their vestiges of slavery," Lau pointed out. "We try to keep down historically underrepresented people."

He acknowledged while not everyone may adopt such views, there is a lot of pressure to close cases and keep people incarcerated, evident by the fact the U.S. incarcerates more people for longer than any other developed country in the world.

Wisconsin's incarceration rate is 615 per 100,000 residents, a higher percentage of its population than almost any democratic country in the world. Compared with Wisconsin's total population, Black and Native people are overrepresented in the incarcerated population with Black people incarcerated at a rate 11 times higher than white people.

Lau argued in order to even begin to think about reform, the U.S. and the state of Wisconsin need to reexamine priorities and funding, as well as rethink the point of doling out such long sentences when it does not keep communities safer.

"I think there are good arguments that it makes us less safe," Lau observed. "But we still keep doing it because I think it's one, easy politically, and it's because it's where we put all of our money."

He added regardless of guilt or innocence, there are simply too many people who are incarcerated. Wisconsin is one of the few states to not ban juvenile life without parole sentences. Nearly 10% of the state's total life-sentenced population were juveniles when they were sentenced. The Wisconsin Innocence Project receives hundreds of requests per month and many are from juvenile offenders.


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Indiana lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday to eliminate judgeships in eleven mostly rural counties as part of a statewide judicial reallocation.

The Senate passed the measure 33-16, sending it back to the House for consideration. House Bill 1144 originally added judicial positions in Elkhart, Hamilton, Lawrence and Vigo counties but senators amended the bill just before a key deadline to cut one court each in Blackford, Carroll, Gibson, Greene, Jennings, Monroe, Newton, Owen, Pulaski, Rush and Scott counties. It also removes six juvenile magistrate positions in Marion County.

Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, said her constituents were shocked by the news.

"I know there're others that wish maybe counties would have been named instead of waiting until the final day for the final meeting in appropriations to actually make that list," Leising pointed out. "That's created quite a frenzy."

State officials said the move will save nearly $750,000 in 2027 and up to $2.75 million by 2032.

Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pushed back against some senators who raised concerns about the timing and transparency of the amendment.

"I'm going to disagree a little bit, this caseload quote - or whatever it's called - and that was last minute, it's not," Brown stated. "They're all very much aware of this because when they come before the summer study every two years, these are the exact numbers and measurements they use when they ask us to add a court."

The House must now decide whether to accept the changes or send the bill to a conference committee.


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Criminal-justice experts say Mississippi's parole and probation systems, designed as alternatives to incarceration, are instead functioning as pipelines back to prison. The state's high revocation rates mirror national trends, where minor technical violations - such as missed appointments or unpaid fees - land thousands under supervision back behind bars each year.

Jonathan Simon, professor of law at University of California, is a national expert on parole and probation. He describes these systems as inherently flawed, offering incarcerated people the illusion of a second chance and being able to move on with their lives.

"There's many, many booby traps that can send a person spiraling, first to jail and then usually back to prison if it's for a longer period of time that makes the sentence that started all of that in some ways a never ending sentence, which is very questionable from a justice point of view," he explained.

While some advocates say parole is vital for Mississippi families and communities. Simon's assessment aligns with Mississippi's own struggles with probation and parole. The state's 2024 corrections report shows 46% of prison admissions come from revoked releases. The racial gap is stark - while Black Mississippians make up 38% of the population, they account for 63% of probation revocations and 60% of parole revocations.

Simon said this happens because a single parole caseworker - with almost no accountability - can decide for something as simple as a missed appointment.

"Should we begin the process of starting a revocation decision against them, which would keep them in jail or prison? That's often made at the level of the front-line worker, which has its advantages in terms of knowledge, but it means that these decisions are being made at a very invisible level and tend not to be subject to much review of any kind," he continued.

Simon pointed to states such as California, where limiting revocations for minor violations helped reduce incarceration, an approach aligned with Mississippi's own 2024 reforms. The state Department of Corrections' 2024 task force report shows the state has reduced technical violation revocations by 18% since 2022, although they still account for 62% of cases.


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On the heels of courtroom victories, some Minnesota prosecutors say they'll try to replicate the success in going after more businesses suspected of wage theft.

After the state bolstered its wage-theft laws, Minnesota's two biggest counties became more active with investigations.

Last week, Hennepin County announced the first criminal conviction for wage theft in state history.

Earlier this year, Ramsey County secured a guilty plea in a case filed after accusations that a contractor was failing to pay wages on time.

Anoka County Attorney Brad Johnson said he's encouraging local investigators to "train up" on this type of enforcement.

"Wage theft has impacts that trickle out into the community, in ways that are maybe not as apparent," said Johnson. "In many situations, people aren't being paid a living wage."

He suggested not being able to provide for their families hurts local economies. Other experts note the fallout strains community resources.

Labor organizations say wage theft is a common problem in construction trades, where immigrant workers are often exploited.

Johnson said preparing his team before diving into investigations is important, given the complex nature of these cases.

In these situations, Johnson said landing a successful criminal conviction is no small feat.

He said on the surface, the business activity might appear legitimate, and law enforcement has to dig deep to prove that something "fishy" is going on.

"And we're trying to show a jury and a court that it wasn't legitimate," said Johnson. "So, that's a difficulty with fraud cases - they're not like murder cases."

Meaning, the clues don't jump out at police.

Johnson added law enforcement agencies still face pressure to prioritize violent crime. So he said he's eager to steer them toward resources that'll make any wage-theft investigations run smoothly.

So they don't feel like they are putting all their time and effort that might drag out.