MADISON, Wisconsin — Governor Tony Evers has granted commutations to 14 people serving prison sentences in Wisconsin, his office announced on Friday, November 13. They are the first commutations granted by any Wisconsin governor since former Governor Tommy Thompson's administration in 1995 — a gap of three decades in which the state's commutation power sat unused.
The 14 were chosen from 24 people who appeared at public hearings before the governor's Commutation Advisory Board on August 21 and September 18, 2026. The other 10 applications were denied, the governor's office said. The board was created only this year, when Evers signed Executive Orders 287 and 288 on April 3, 2026, restoring a commutation process that had not operated in Wisconsin for more than 25 years.
What a commutation does — and does not do
A commutation reduces a court-ordered sentence; it is not a pardon and it does not erase a conviction. The governor's office stressed that a commutation does not automatically mean release or even a shortened time in custody in every case. For most of the 14, what changed is the date on which they can first be considered for parole — in several cases by more than a decade.
Only one of the 14 will walk out immediately. Amanda Weaver, sentenced on November 19, 2008, in Marinette County to 30 years of confinement and 20 years of extended supervision for five counts of burglary, had her sentence changed to allow her immediate release from confinement, followed by two years of extended supervision. Weaver and several other people entered churches and a restaurant in 2007 and 2008 and took cash and other items. She has now served 17 years of confinement. At her sentencing, the prosecution and the defence had jointly recommended five years of confinement and 12 years of extended supervision, and others involved in the burglaries received no more than three years of confinement, according to the governor's office.
Juvenile lifers whose parole dates moved by years
Several grants went to people sentenced to life as teenagers, the group Executive Order 288 was specifically designed to review. Mighty Howell, 50, who has served 33 years of a life sentence for first-degree intentional homicide, had his parole eligibility moved from 2038 to September 2027. Howell was 17 when convicted over the May 27, 1993, death of Roger Bucholz in Milwaukee during an attempted robbery; he maintained continuous employment in prison and received 20 letters of support, including one from a retired correctional officer.
Michael Maldonado, 47, has served 31 years of a life sentence imposed in 1995, when he was 15, for his role in the 1994 killing of Ruben Borchardt in Jefferson County. His sentence was shortened to four more years of incarceration followed by parole; his first parole eligibility had been set for 2044, but an accomplice who received a shorter sentence took responsibility for the shooting, and Maldonado's sentence was modified in 2025. He earned an associate's degree in business and certifications while incarcerated. Daniel Cerney, 43, who received two concurrent life sentences for the 1999 shooting deaths of William Leis, 51, and his 85-year-old mother Evelyn Leis, when Cerney was 16, had his parole eligibility moved from 2044 to 2030; he worked for Badger State Industries and received a letter of support from the victims' family, who have consistently visited him in prison.
Sabir Wilcher, 46, has served 31 years of a life sentence given in 1995, when he was 15, for the killing of Elvis Anderson, 20, in Milwaukee. His sentence was commuted to three more years of incarceration before parole; he has been eligible for parole since 2025 and could be released earlier depending on a Parole Commission decision, and both the victim's son and the prosecuting district attorney supported his commutation. Wazir El-Amin, formerly Wade A. Curtis, 55, has served 36 years of a life sentence given in 1990 for first-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon in Racine County and was made immediately eligible for parole, ahead of his previous 2028 date; he has work secured with a construction company and plans to volunteer with a nonprofit he started with his wife.
DeQuelvin Douglas, 47, convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide in Kenosha County at age 15 and sentenced to life at 16, had his parole eligibility moved from 2056 to 2029. Dawn Dobbs, 59, incarcerated for 32 years after a 1994 life sentence in Milwaukee County for the killing of her life partner, had her parole eligibility changed from 2035 to November 2026; the district attorney and her son supported a commutation. Touissant Harley's sentence was reduced to reflect a mandatory transition to parole by June 1, 2027. Sammy Cole, convicted in an armed robbery case in Calumet County, was also among those granted a commutation.
Praise, criticism, and the parole limit in Wisconsin law
Republican legislators criticised the grants sharply. Senator Eric Wimberger said Evers 'is releasing 10 murderers, a burglar, an arsonist and a drug dealer — who all deserve their punishments,' and said the decision puts communities in physical danger. Senator Julian Bradley, recently elected Senate Minority Leader, wrote: 'So there's no confusion, Tony Evers is commuting the sentences of 10 convicted murderers and he's releasing it on a Friday afternoon, hoping nobody notices.' Representative Amanda Nedweski criticised the Douglas commutation, citing significant opposition from the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office. Those characterisations are the legislators' own; a commutation changes parole eligibility or sentence length as set out above, and release itself remains a Parole Commission decision in most of these cases.
Under Wisconsin's Truth-in-Sentencing laws, a person convicted of a felony committed on or after December 31, 1999, and sentenced to at least a year in prison is generally not eligible for parole at all. That is why moving a parole-eligibility date — or creating one — is often the practical effect of a commutation, and why most of the 14 will not be released immediately.
The ACLU of Wisconsin praised the decision. 'Voters across the political spectrum support the use of commutations to end or shorten unjust prison sentences so that people can rejoin their communities and get a fair chance at life,' the group said, urging Evers to continue commuting sentences before he leaves office and hoping Governor-elect Crowley builds on the process. The ACLU noted that Wisconsin's prison population is at record highs and called the commutations 'a start.' Executive Order 287 states that commutations promote rehabilitation by rewarding incarcerated people who demonstrate personal growth and a commitment to change with 'the possibility of a second chance to contribute to society.' Evers has granted more than 2,443 official pardons in office, more than any other governor in Wisconsin history; Thompson, by comparison, issued seven commutations in his tenure.
What happens next
More grants are possible before Evers leaves office. The Commutation Advisory Board heard additional applicants in October and November and has further hearings scheduled for November 20 and December 11, 2026. For the 14 named on Friday, the next steps sit with the Department of Corrections and the Parole Commission: Weaver's immediate release and two years of extended supervision, parole hearings for those whose eligibility dates have now arrived or moved closer, and continued custody for the rest until their new dates are reached.
Sources: Office of Governor Tony Evers announcement and Executive Order 287, as reported November 13, 2026; WTAQ-WLUK reporting on the Northeast Wisconsin cases; Focal News, Madison, November 14, 2026.
Source: WTAQ-WLUK via Duke FM