For weeks, a stream of ads has attacked Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor, for allowing access to tablets in the Milwaukee County Jail. In some high-profile cases, incarcerated people used the tablets to harass people on the outside. The ads, which recycle footage of a disgruntled local judge, have kept Crowley on the defensive while casting his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, as a protector of crime victims.
The ads focus on individual cases of people using their jail-issued tablets to harass witnesses and victims. Many feature Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski, who asked, “Why is the sheriff’s office handing laptops and iPads to defendants?” Borowski was presiding over a hearing involving Thomas Zollicofer, who is accused of killing three people in a spree. Zollicofer used his tablet to tell a witness to “stop lying,” WISN 12 News reported. Some of the ads also mention Ameir Jones, who is also accused of homicide and of attempting to call a victim in his case over 1,500 times, with prosecutors saying 300 of those calls were answered.
Over a short span of time, the anti-Crowley ads have made tablet access a big issue in the governor’s race. Late last week, Crowley suspended instant messaging on digital tablets at the Community Reintegration Center. The facility, formerly known as the House of Correction, is under more direct oversight by Crowley and the county board than the jail, which is overseen by the sheriff’s office…