Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Heats Up, Crawford Scrutinized for Protecting Violent Criminals and Rapists

“Her career is defined by making Wisconsin less safe,” argues Schimel Campaign Spokesperson Jacob Fischer.

The April 1, 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race is drawing no small degree of national attention. While technically a nonpartisan position, it’s a bitter contest between liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and conservative Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel. The winner of the race will decide whether liberals will retain a narrow majority or conservatives will flip it.

Both candidates are trading blows and hurling the usual accusations. Crawford, for instance, has been called soft on crime, with Schimel running ads that highlight his opponent’s seemingly lenient rulings for egregious crimes. Crawford claims that details of those cases “have been taken out of context and sensationalized by right-wing media.”

But how true is that claim? It would be easy enough to take Crawford at her word, especially if one is sympathetic to her attitude on crime and corrections. A number of publications, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, seem to have done just that—effectively coming to Crawford’s defense by repeating her retort. 

At the very least, it’s worth a deeper look. 

The source of the alleged sensationalism seems to come from a slate of pro-Schimel ads which launched in early March. Two in particular, paid for by the WMC Issues Mobilization Council, feature Wisconsin law enforcement critiquing Crawford for her inability to sufficiently punish violent offenders.

“She continually lets dangerous criminals off easy; four years for a man who raped a six-year-old child; two years for a wife-beater who also shot a man; only 90 days for a man who strangled a woman,” said Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner in one ad. “With judges like Susan Crawford putting violent criminals back on the street, we can’t keep you safe.”

The first case Zoerner mentions is that of Curtis O’Brien who brutally and repeatedly raped a five-year-old girl. Beyond the physical pain she endured, the child experienced immeasurable emotional damage and psychological trauma, at one point making a comment about “almost killing herself” to police. Initially, O’Brien was initially given $10,000 cash bail by Dane County Court Commissioner Scott McAndrew. 

O’Brien’s lawyer asked Crawford, who was presiding over the case, for a lower bond. Despite protests from the defense, Crawford made the decision to release the rapist on a $500 signature bond. Over the next two years, during bond hearings, Crawford continually loosened restrictions and allowed O’Brien to move near an elementary school. Later, he would receive a paltry two-year sentence—bringing O’Brien’s time in prison to a four-year total when accounting for 777 days spent in jail during his trial. 

“I don’t regret that sentence,” Crawford responded when asked about O’Brien during a debate with Schimel earlier this month. “Because I followed the law in that case, as I always do.”

Wisconsin law would permit up to 60 years imprisonment for first degree sexual assault, and up to a life sentence if O’Brien had been found guilty of additionally causing injury. And, for the record, Crawford ruled that O’Brien was competent to stand trial, despite “expert testimony” claiming that O’Brien had “unspecified mental disorders.” 

It’s unclear what parts of that case are being “sensationalized” or “taken out of context.” But O’Brien’s case is only one of many. 

Crawford also gave Jerome Winslow, a repeat felon also known as the “Langdon Street Attacker,” a seven year sentence after Winslow beat a 19-year-old girl within inches of her life, and left her bleeding out in a snow bank with a broken jaw and damaged eye socket. The maximum sentence was 44.5 years, with the prosecuting attorney asking for 17. Crawford said of the attacker “I wish I could do something to fix Mr. Winslow’s trauma that he’s experienced.” 

In 2018, Crawford oversaw the case of Kevin D. Welton, who repeatedly touched the “vaginal area and buttocks” of six and seven-year-old girls in a swimming pool. The jury found Welton guilty of three class B felonies, a single one of which carries a max penalty of 60 years. Prosecutors recommended he serve at least ten years in prison. Crawford gave him four.

“Her disrespect for victims and disregard for the safety of our communities is disqualifying,” said Schimel Campaign Spokesperson Jacob Fischer. “Child rapists, sexual predators, and violent criminals know that they have an ally in Susan Crawford. Her career is defined by making Wisconsin less safe.”

The Schimel campaign has additionally accused Crawford of “[trying] to rush pardons for 27 convicted criminals, pushing to bypass the normal interview process and release them sooner,” and also of “[refusing] to send a man to prison who pointed an AR-15 directly at law enforcement.”

Despite her insistence otherwise, Crawford's rulings haven’t exactly been misrepresented or mischaracterized. It’s more accurate to say that the rulings, even with additional context from the, are themselves questionable. However, that hasn’t stopped her from raising $25 million from Democrat and progressive coalitions directly into her campaign—a sum which somewhat dwarves the $12 million raised by Schimel.

On the flip side, Schimel has been the greater beneficiary of third party expenditures—to the tune of about $9 million more than Crawford. Overall, Crawford is still the better-funded candidate, but it remains to be seen whether or not that translates to votes in a race that’s mere days from wrapping up.