I guess we can’t get too outraged. These are, after all, the non-violent offenders that Democrats don’t think should be locked up at all.

Since 2020, state law has required judges to impose a three-year minimum sentence for a seventh, eighth or ninth drunk driving offense and four years for a 10th offense. However, a FOX6 investigation found many such offenders are getting out of prison early. Some, very early.

“They’re not being deterred from their behavior whatsoever,” said Borowski.

A detailed analysis by the FOX6 Investigators found that, of the nearly 200 drivers in Wisconsin charged with a seventh OWI or more in 2018, at least 43 have already been released. Most of them are middle-aged, while men who served less than 40% of their sentence.

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One law says judges shall impose a three-year minimum sentenced, but another law says judges shall release inmates as soon as they’ve completed a substance abuse program.

“We’ve always been led to believe, in fact, told by the DOC, that they’re not going to get into that program until maybe they’ve served two years,” Borowski said.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says the number of inmates eligible for earned release is down, so some inmates are enrolling in treatment shortly after intake. And with prison admissions suspended due to COVID-19, the wait will only get shorter. That means some inmates could be in and out of prison in just a few months.