MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - The state Assembly’s Criminal Justice Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill to stop letting family members off the hook if they help their criminal relatives escape arrest.
The main sponsor, Milwaukee Democrat Peggy Krusick, has dropped an exception for domestic abuse victims who are forced to hide evidence by relatives convicted of abuse in the past.
That provision had tied up the measure. But Krusick has agreed to drop it, saying prosecutors have the discretion not to charge abuse victims or others in extenuating circumstances.
Krusick has argued for years that it’s wrong for relatives to hide evidence from the police – and not charging them encourages families to obstruct law enforcement.
Krusick’s fellow Democrats have previously blocked her efforts to change that – and she saw a glimmer of hope when Republicans took over the Legislature.
Krusick’s bill would also increase the penalties for harboring fugitives from 18 months in prison to 5 years for the most serious crimes. And extended supervision for those offenders would increase from two years to five.
Prosecutors in Milwaukee and Kenosha support the bill, saying they’ve been hog-tied for years by relatives who hide evidence – even in murder cases.
About a dozen states exempt charges against those who help fugitive relatives. But Wisconsin’s law covers more relatives, and it allows them to do more to throw police off.
