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Pardon advisory board hears dozens of applicants asking Gov. Evers to restore civil rights
Summary
The Governor's Pardon Advisory Board spent a full day hearing applicants who described past convictions, rehabilitation and barriers to employment and licensing; board members asked follow‑up questions then moved to closed session under Wis. Stat. § 19.85 to deliberate.
Mel Barnes, the governor's chief legal counsel and chair of the Pardon Advisory Board, opened a livestreamed hearing and outlined the format: each applicant should describe the offense, what they have done since completing their sentence, and why they are seeking a pardon. "My name is Mel Barnes, and I'm chief legal counsel to Governor Evers and the chair of his Pardon Advisory Board," she told attendees as the board began the day.
Over several hours the board heard from applicants who ranged from people with decades‑old convictions to those whose offenses occurred as juveniles. Applicants repeatedly said that a pardon would remove employment, licensing or travel barriers; the board frequently urged applicants to submit letters of support and to check civil records. At the end of the public testimony Chair Barnes asked for a motion "to move the board into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute section 19.85 sub 1 sub a sub d and sub f"; a second was offered and the motion carried, and members paused the livestream to deliberate privately.
