Reforming Wisconsin’s prison system has become a major issue in the race for governor and it didn’t happen by accident.

Advocates pushing to reduce the state’s inmate population secured a commitment from Democrat candidate Tony Evers to cut the amount of Wisconsin prisoners by half, setting a stark contrast with his incumbent opponent, Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Walker has spent decades in politics pushing policies aimed at getting tougher on crime, such as longer sentences for offenders, not shorter.

Sarah Ferber is no stranger to Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.

Ferber was arrested in 2014 for delivery of heroin and possession of methamphetamine, but with the help of a treatment court in Eau Claire, she was able to avoid prison, stay sober, get a degree in social work and become the statewide director of a group called Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing or EXPO.

Her group and interfaith coalitions WISDOM and the Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations Allied for Hope, or MICAH, have spent years advocating for Wisconsin’s prison population to be cut in half and for the state to address racial disparities within the criminal justice system.

African-Americans make up less than 7 percent of the state's population, but 43 percent of Wisconsin's prison population are black men. This year, advocacy groups scored a political victory when Ferber said they forced prison reform into the race for governor.

"WISDOM and EXPO did a very good job this year of bringing criminal justice reform to the forefront of the election," Ferber said. "So, we started way back in January and invited all of the Democratic candidates and Scott Walker to our first candidate forum that we had in Madison and we lifted up criminal justice reform stuff."

Ferber says neither Walker or state Schools Superintendent Evers attended the January event, but Evers did send a letter of support.

During a Democratic primary debate in July that featured Evers on stage with nine other governor hopefuls, Evers reaffirmed his pledge to reduce the state’s prison population from 23,000 inmates to 11,000.

"This isn’t about being soft on crime. It’s being smart on crime and making sure that people who haven’t committed violent crimes are put in diversion programs, making sure that people that are arrested for drug issues get into drug courts," Evers said. "We have to stop incarcerating people for nonviolent crimes. That’s the bottom line."

While Evers' pledge won the support of advocates, it was quickly used against him by Walker who released an attack ad on the topic.

"Now, Evers wants to cut Wisconsin’s prison population in half," states the ad’s narrator. "A dangerous plan that today would mean releasing thousands of violent criminals back into our communities, which could include felons who’ve committed rape, assault, robbery and even kidnapping."

There are more than 23,500 inmates in a prison system built to hold less than 18,000, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. More than 60 percent of them are serving time for violent offenses. The current state budget earmarks nearly $2.5 billion for corrections through next year.

While Walker was a state representative in the 1990s, he was a lead proponent of truth-in-sentencing laws, which eliminated parole for those convicted after 1999, the laws have led to more offenders being locked up for rule violations while on probation.

The truth-in-sentencing laws caused inmates to spend longer prison sentences and sent more people back to prison for probation rule violations, according to research by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance.

There are 2,134 people incarcerated that are eligible for parole under the law prior to truth-in-sentencing; and between 2013 and 2017, 9,985 hearings were held but only 865 inmates were granted parole, according to the DOC.

Walker has said his support for truth-in-sentencing stems from a discussion with a victim of a violent crime who told him seeing her attacker released early made her feel like a victim all over again.

"She deserved to know if she was going to face down the perpetrator of that crime, exactly how much time he was going to serve in prison and under the old system he got out early," Walker told WPR.

Instead of releasing inmates early, Walker says there should be more alternatives to incarceration when appropriate and more funding for prisoner vocational training.

While the current state budget increases funding for treatment and diversion programs from $6 million to $9 million, the programs are only available in 46 of Wisconsin's 72 counties. The state does have an earned-release program where inmates who successfully complete a six-month treatment program can have their remaining prison time converted to supervised release. To qualify for the program a judge must deem an inmate eligible. Between 2013 and 2017, according to the DOC, 6,186 inmates completed the program.

Former GOP Governor: 'Too Many Prisons' Were Built

While Walker wasn't alone in calling for stricter sentencing in the 1990s, when the state’s inmate population grew the fastest, some who joined him then have since had a change of heart.

Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson said there was a "clarion call" for tougher sentences after a rash of high-profile crimes.

"And the public was just fed up with it," Thompson told WPR. "They wanted their streets safe and they wanted the bad guys off the streets."

Between 1990 and 1999 the state’s prison population tripled and 12 new prisons were built across the state. That’s something Thompson now regrets.

"Well, I think I built too many prisons when I was governor, and I’ve apologized for that," Thompson said.

Thompson has now joined the call for prison reform in Wisconsin.

He’s proposing a plan that would give nonviolent offenders alcohol and drug treatment, vocational training, and pair them with employers for apprenticeships to reduce the prison population and address a shortage of skilled workers. While the former governor has changed his tune, Walker has not embraced the call to substantially reduce the state’s prison population.