Walker's Poor Law & Order Posturing

The right wing bloggers, like Owen Robinson and Patrick Dorwin, are starting the complaints of Governor Jim Doyle releasing prisoners early in an effort to decrease overcrowding and to supposedly save money.

Without going into the fairness, or lack thereof, of some of the sentencing guidelines, I can't say that they are wrong in their complaints. If someone does the crime, they should be held responsible for their actions.

That said, at least the bad guys in the state prisons had lost some freedoms and the ability to commit major crimes. The same cannot be said for those locked up in Milwaukee County's House of Correction.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting of a prescription forgery ring that was busted, with the ring leader calling the shots on the entire operation while sitting in the House of Correction:

The group’s goal was to move 450 pills per day at a street value of between $45 and $80 per pill, Schoonover said. They switched doctors’ names about once a month and drove to pharmacies all over the region in hopes of avoiding detection.

Reno, identified as the ringleader, continued running the operation even while he served time in the House of Correction on a cocaine possession charge from May 2007 through January, Schoonover said.

From the House, Reno made 3,600 minutes worth of calls to his girlfriend on the outside, telling her which runners to work with, which bogus prescription pads to use and which pharmacies to go to, Schoonover said. Often, she drove the runners to the pharmacy and waited outside with the disposable cell phones, answering them while posing as a nurse or receptionist and verifying the prescriptions.

The majority of the time that Reno was locked up, but still plying his illegal trade, was while Scott Walker was in charge of the HOC, before he realized he was not up to the task and abdicated his duties by dumping the mess on Sheriff David Clarke.

Of course, Walker's track record of being good in the law and order business is not a very stellar one.

As a state legislator, he tried to revamp the system by introducing "Truth in Sentencing." But like most things he touches, he screwed it up royally, sticking tax payers with huge bills, but little to show for it.

Walker's overseeing of the HOC has been less than stellar as well, with the facility having a number of problems, as pointed out in a federal audit done a couple of years ago.

Most recently, Walker learned that executiving is hard work when he furloughed deputy sheriffs and correction officers for eight days in 2010. Walker claims it was unintentional, but that claim has to be taken with a grain of salt. Either way, it shows that Walker is either soft on crime, or that he is just incompetent. Either way, it should make anyone pause if they think he is anyway fit to be governor, especially on a "tough on crime" platform.

While the right might have a legitimate gripe about Doyle releasing prisoners, with Walker in charge, it doesn't matter if they're locked up or not. That is not someone I want in charge of public safety on any level.