Susan Crawford Supports Soft-on-Crime DEI Prison Policies

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice candidate Susan Crawford poses a threat to Wisconsin’s democratic institutions and the safety of its citizens. She openly supports turning the state’s high court into an activist battering ram to implement the worst component of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by enacting policies that put dangerous criminals back on the streets.

Crawford’s record, both as Chair of the Governor’s Pardon Advisory Board and as a circuit court judge, reveal someone who disregards checks and balances and views any governmental position as an outlet for leftist social engineering. 

(RELATED: WISCONSIN: Who’s Bankrolling Susan Crawford’s Supreme Court Campaign?)

Weak on Crime

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) created the Governor's Pardon Advisory Board in 2003 and “[took] the Board’s recommendations seriously,” according to the Appleton Post-Crescent. As Board Chair, Crawford allowed 27 applicants to skip a public board hearing before recommending Doyle pardon them. In his final two weeks in office, Doyle pardoned a whopping 74 convicts.

As a candidate for Dane County Circuit Court Judge, Crawford explained her pro-DEI mindset to Dane County’s League of Women Voters (LWV) in a questionnaire:

My work in different aspects of the criminal justice system and on civil cases fighting for the rights of disadvantaged and vulnerable populations has helped me to recognize and challenge systemic inequality, as well as my own privilege and implicit biases. As a judge, I will work continuously to recognize and confront my unconscious biases and those of other justice system participants . . . .

Crawford kept her promise to continue her social justice crusade as a judge. 

• In 2018, she sentenced Curtis O’Brien—a convicted repeat sex offender of a child—to only four years of confinement and six years of extended supervision. O’Brian had been charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl before being released on bail to live with his father across the street from an elementary school. O’Brien’s conviction made him eligible for up to 60 years in prison. He was released from prison in September 2024 on extended supervision.
• In 2019, she handed Kevin Welton a similar sentence for sexually assaulting two girls at swimming pools in incidents occurring seven and a half years apart. Welton faced up to 100 years in prison after being found guilty of three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. Like O’Brien, Welton was released from prison in 2024. 
• She sentenced two men who beat a man to death over an apparent love quarrel to less than eight years in prison apiece. 
• She also sentenced a man officials believed was plotting to bomb the University of Wisconsin Madison to just two years in prison. According to Assistant District Attorney John Rice, Brian Campbell—who pleaded no contest to possessing homemade explosives in his Madison apartment—searched the internet for how to make bombs and drew maps of underground tunnels of the university’s campus.

The fact Crawford’s husband, Dr. Shawn Peters, is a lecturer at the university Campbell apparently planned to bomb reveals how dangerous her  commitment to soft-on-crime policies is even when her own husband is at risk. Peters likely understands, though, that sacrifices must be risked for social justice.  The university awarded him “Distinguished Status” for “his steadfast dedication to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.” 

A Restorative Justice Fanatic

Many liberals are soft on crime, but Crawford made clear in her response to the LWV questionnaire that she believes certain Americans suffer from “systemic inequality,” while others—like herself—enjoy systemic privilege. One must, therefore, assume only experts on privilege know who falls in which category. Leftists developed DEI policies to address these discrepancies they believe are self-evident. The concept of “restorative justice” is one of the most pernicious forms of DEI.

Restorative Justice offers criminals “outpatient therapy” instead of punishment for their crimes. It treats them as societal victims rather than societal offenders. For instance, its advocates believe a homeless person who steals is a victim rather than a criminal. 

After former President Barack Obama’s infamous letter to school boards threatening their funding if they didn’t stop disciplining so many black kids, school adopted restorative justice, leading to disastrous consequences for safety. Instead of disciplining kids who misbehave, social workers began counseling sessions to talk about their feelings. 

This causes enough problems for schools, but adopting such harebrained policies in the criminal justice system endangers every Wisconsin resident. This is how Crawford ruled as a Dane County judge and how she will rule if she wins the Supreme Court election.

In a 2018 op-ed in The Cap Times, she wrote, “Reducing racial disparities in Dane County’s criminal justice system will be my highest priority.” 

Not seeking justice for victims, not reducing crime—reducing racial disparities.

She continued: “I strongly support the use and expansion of restorative justice and diversion programs.” She told the LWV this should include “homeless courts” to “foster accountability outside the formal justice system.” She also said judges receive implicit bias training, so they apparently—like her—might become enlightened to their own privilege.

Crawford’s Distorted View of a Judge’s Role in a Democratic Society

Crawford appears to misunderstand the judge’s role in relation to politics. She even suggested presidential politics motivated her to run for Circuit Court Judge.

In a 2018 interview, she openly advocated for judges to act politically.

I think it’s important for judges to have a voice and use their voices. I think too many times judges feel that it’s inappropriate for them to speak out on issues that our community faces because they feel that it is too political. My view is that judges need to share information with the public and with policy makers as well about what their seeing in their courtrooms and what the issues and problems are in the justice system.

Just two days after she announced her candidacy for state Supreme Court, she received the endorsements of all four liberal Justices. Even the liberal Wisconsin Public Radio called it “a rare sign of unanimity behind a single candidate this early in the campaign cycle.”

Crawford’s statements and record as Chair of the Governor’s Pardon Advisory Board and Dane County Circuit Court Judge show that she blames society for many criminals’ behavior rather than the criminals themselves. We've seen this activist judge routine grow in liberal enclaves across America. If Crawford wins her race on April 1, she will help the Court’s liberal majority push for Restorative Justice policies. This will make Wisconsin less democratic and less safe.

As Crawford wrote in the Cap Times, “Courts matter, and so do elections.”

Meet the real Susan Crawford at SusanCrawfordSupremeCourt.com

(READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: This April, Wisconsin Voters Must Mandate Photo ID to Save Elections)