Dennis M. Franklin, Sr. | EXPO Wisconsin

Dennis Franklin brings his passion for helping others and his love of law to his work as an EXPO Fellow. After his own experiences of being incarcerated, Dennis is a firm believer that everyone has redeemable qualities and deserves a second chance. He is currently pursuing a degree in Human Services at Madison College to facilitate him as he supports individuals in seeing their own worth and demanding that the carceral system to do the same.

Dennis has been instrumental support in cases in Wisconsin and federal court, for both himself and for others. For example, in the WI Supreme Court, Dennis successfully challenged the state burglary statute so that the US government can no longer use it as a predicate offense for the enhanced sentence of an armed career criminal. As a result of years of individual study and research of criminal law, he has a wealth of knowledge about navigating the carceral and legal system that he generously shares with individuals at EXPO.

Support Our Cause

People in our communities without direct experience with incarceration are often ill-informed of the negative, and catastrophic, effects on earnings and employment, physical and mental health, housing and education, and family well-being created and perpetuated by the carceral system. Through our advocacy work in local and state government, EXPO creates space, opportunity, and support for system-impacted individuals to raise their voices about the systemic and institutional harm of the incarceration. In the words of one of our organizers, EXPO’s work “shines a light of awareness and truth where others refuse to acknowledge.”