Dozens of state prisoners who wouldn't ordinarily be eligible for clemency under Gov. Tony Evers' criteria have been seeking waivers for consideration as prisons try to hold off the spread of COVID-19.

The inmates are getting help from a non-profit advocacy group called Forum For Understanding Prisons, which held a virtual news conference about the efforts Tuesday.

"We want the criteria waived during the coronavirus pandemic," said Ben Turk, one of the event's organizers. "The best way to mitigate risk in prisons is to reduce the population."

Live Updates:The latest on coronavirus in Wisconsin

Daily Digest:A daily digest of what you need to know about coronavirus in Wisconsin

Since he took office, Evers has granted 29 pardons, but to people who had already completed the prison terms and extended supervision portions of their sentences.

The FFUP thinks Evers should use the power to release some inmates directly from the prisons. The 31 petitions its sending to his office include those from men with various existing health conditions, like asthma, heart disease, diabetes and prostate cancer, and range in age from 27 to 71, though most are in their 50s or older.

They also were convicted of crimes from repeated drunken driving and burglary to sexual assault and homicide, some serving life sentences.

Relatives of some prisoners described their loved one fears of the coronavirus inside prisons. Jodi Nelson said her son leaves his facility once a month for infusions to treat his ulcerative colitis, and then must remain in segregation for two weeks when he returns. She said that's where he's in contact with newly arrived inmates and fears COVID-19 exposure.

Another woman said her incarcerated husband has taken to asking corrections officers who intend to do a pat-down if he could instead submit to a self-strip search, so they can check him visually and from a distance.

"I understand that's a horrible option" she said, "But when it comes down to pride or safety, many will pick safety."

Nelson said her son told her some inmates don't report symptoms, because they get put into quarantine right away, which is essentially segregation, and lose access to their property and communications.

"It's a disincentive to testing," she said.

While some states have seen massive COVID-19 outbreaks in their prisons or large urban jails, as of Tuesday, Wisconsin's Department of Corrections reports just 11 positive tests for inmates at three prisons and 15 staff with confirmed infections at four prisons and a community corrections office.

The Forum for Understanding Prison wonders if enough prisoners are getting tested fast enough, even though the state Department of Health Services ranks them a top priority, along wth other aggregate living facilities, like nursing homes.

Turk notes that the rate of testing in prisons, at least based on available information, appears to be half of that among the non-prison population. "We have lots of questions about testing on the inside," he said.

He did note that since between March 20 and Friday, the overall DOC population appears to have shrunk by 585, from nearly 23,300, to just over 22,700. He said the DOC made the efforts it was taking to reduce crowding sound like more.

"The numbers don't add up," Turk said. "DOC is not being transparent about releases."

Anna Neal, spokesperson for the DOC, said the agency shares what it can, within privacy restraints, about testing and cited the DOC's online site for information about how many staff and inmates have been tested, at which facilities.

As to releasing inmates, Neal said the DOC has limited authority under its Earned Release Program for alcohol abusers and special action parole for inmates sentenced prior to 2000, when necessary to relieve overcrowding.

Since the start of the health emergency in Wisconsin, the FFUP has staged demonstrations about prisoners' higher risk of exposure to the coronavirus outside a Milwaukee prison and the DOC secretary's home.

Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.