MADISON — Wisconsin’s Commutation Advisory Board heard from 12 incarcerated people seeking shorter or modified sentences Friday, continuing a clemency process revived this year after a 25-year break. The applicants appeared in an open session conducted by livestream. The board then met privately to consider recommendations for Gov. Tony Evers. Chair Mel Barnes said only applications receiving a majority vote will be forwarded to the governor, who has final authority to grant commutations under the Wisconsin Constitution. Evers established the board and its application process through executive orders issued April 4. The board heard its first group of 12 applicants Aug. 21. The process is the first opportunity for Wisconsin prisoners to seek commutation since Gov. Tommy Thompson granted the last such relief a quarter-century ago. The applicants at Friday’s session described serious crimes, lengthy incarceration and efforts to accept responsibility or demonstrate rehabilitation. Several were convicted for offenses committed when they were teenagers or barely adults. Touissant Harley, 53, was sentenced to life in 1992 for first-degree murder and first-degree reckless injury after a shooting that killed Christopher Sallis and injured another person. Harley was 18 when he was convicted and became eligible for parole in July 2025. Harley apologized to the victim’s mother, Mavis Sallis, and acknowledged the lasting harm caused by the shooting. Sallis has supported his release and previously advocated for a lesser charge, according to statements presented in court and before the board. Mistye Doughty, 66, is serving a 35-year sentence followed by 25 years of extended supervision for felony murder and armed robbery in Brown County. Prosecutors said she participated in a robbery in which her husband killed jeweler Douglas Tappa. Doughty said she did not take part in the killing but accepted responsibility for failing to call 911 or help the victim. She has served about 25 years. Doughty said she has undergone therapy, become a certified peer specialist and plans to live at a Madison facility operated by EXPO if released. Mel Tappa, the victim’s daughter, opposed the request and described the continuing harm to her family. Efrain Campos, who was sentenced to 70 years in 1999, said he has spent about 27 years in prison for crimes committed shortly after he turned 18. He was convicted in connection with armed robberies and reckless endangerment after shots were fired at two responding police officers. Campos said he made immature and selfish choices while seeking acceptance, but recognized that the outcome could have been fatal. Wazir El-Amin, 55, has served 37 years of a life sentence for the 1990 killing of 18-year-old Christopher Rolle in Racine County. El-Amin, formerly known as Wade A. Curtis, applied through the juvenile process because he was 18 at the time of his conviction. He is scheduled for a parole hearing in 2028. El-Amin said he has earned two degrees, completed prison programs and worked as a tutor and respite care worker. He told the board he would live with his wife and continue helping formerly incarcerated people if released. Casey Fisher, 54, is serving a life sentence plus 20 years for first-degree intentional homicide and armed robbery. Fisher maintained his innocence but said he was not using the commutation process to challenge his conviction. He pointed to his participation in prison programs and said he had not received a conduct report since 2018. He also cited his relationship with his 2-year-old granddaughter. Richard Sulla, 39, has served 16 years of a 25-year prison term followed by 25 years of extended supervision. He was convicted after a mult county crime spree that included an armed burglary and resulted in more than $101,000 in restitution owed to Joseph and Laurie Dudley. Sulla said he began offending after a medical discharge from the Marine Corps and while dealing with childhood abuse, but accepted responsibility for damaging the Dudleys’ home and sense of security. Sulla described completing education and restorative justice programs, volunteering with service dogs and creating a peer-support program. The Dudleys submitted a letter opposing his commutation. Robert Patterson pleaded guilty to an amended charge of party to second-degree intentional homicide after a 2002 shooting inside a van killed Kristopher Beason. Patterson said he fired because he feared for his life, but told the board he later understood he had other options. He received 27 years in prison followed by 18 years of community supervision. The victim’s sister opposed his release, saying Patterson had been a longtime neighbor and friend who appeared to help search for the killer despite his role in the shooting. Dequelvin Douglas was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide in Kenosha County for offenses committed when he was 15. Sentenced to life at 16, Douglas has been imprisoned for 31 years. Douglas accepted responsibility and said the crimes were deliberate and caused irreparable harm. He described joining an accountability group, completing restorative justice work and becoming a peer specialist and mentor, particularly for young men. Harlan Schwartz is serving 37 years in prison followed by 18 years of supervision for two arsons and offenses involving a Molotov cocktail. The fires targeted the home of then-Douglas County District Attorney Daniel Blank. In one incident, Blank, his wife and their 3-year-old daughter escaped after a fire was set inside the home. Schwartz said he participated because of threats from gang leader Alejandro Rivera, who was awaiting trial for murder with Blank as prosecutor. A prior sentencing judge found that coercion had not been established and said Schwartz had acted for money. Blank’s family now supports Schwartz’s commutation, according to board testimony. A later effort to reduce his sentence was rejected by a judge in 2022. Dawn Dobbs, 59, has spent more than 32 years in prison for the 1994 killing of her life partner, the father of her two sons. Dobbs said she obtained the gun used by a younger co-defendant and eventually accepted responsibility for encouraging the others to commit the crime. She described completing counseling and creating a suicide-prevention video shown in Wisconsin prisons. If released, Dobbs said she would live with her sister in Jefferson and seek work with animals while volunteering at shelters and other community organizations. Richard Perekovich is serving a 30-year prison term followed by 10 years of supervision for a 2001 shooting outside a tavern that killed Victor Ransom and injured Antonio Young. Perekovich said he fired first because he believed another person was reaching for a gun, although he acknowledged he did not actually see a weapon. He said he pleaded no contest because he did not believe a jury would accept his claim of self-defense. Perekovich told the board that his decision to carry a gun and fire it caused the death of a father and permanently injured another man. The sentencing court said an innocent person leaving the tavern had been killed. Yatau Her, 43, was sentenced in 2005 to 24 years in prison followed by 15 years of extended supervision for attempted first-degree intentional homicide after he shot at a grocery store owner during an attempted robbery. Her said his unstable life, gang involvement and panic did not excuse the shooting. Her described changing his behavior after a period in segregation, completing educational and work programs and moving from maximum-security housing to work release. If released, he said he could live with family in Wisconsin, California or Oklahoma. The advisory board’s recommendations will go to Evers for consideration. The governor’s office will determine whether any of the applicants receive a commutation, which can reduce or alter a criminal sentence but does not erase a conviction.