The 2016 CAPPS Annual Membership Meeting on October 13 was attending by over 200 CAPPS members and supporters.

The first half of the program included legislative updates on HB 4138, the Smart and Safe parole reform bill, as well as elections for the CAPPS Board of Directors.  The evening also featured musical performances by Al Ashby and Ed Genesis. Other highlights:

  • Laura Sager, executive director, introduced CAPPS’s growing team of staff, consultants and partner organizations.
  • Barbara Levine, CAPPS associate director, presented the CAPPS 2016 William G. Milliken award to Rep. Heise (R-Northville).
  • Rep. Dave LaGrand (D-Grand Rapids) announced the formation of a bicameral, bipartisan legislative caucus on criminal justice reform and discussed the importance of restorative justice. See the full transcript of Rep. LaGrand’s remarks on “Chipping Away Whatever Doesn’t Look Like Justice” here.
  • Aswad Thomas, the national organizer for the Alliance for Safety and Justice, spoke about his personal story and  the importance of organizing crime survivors in communities hardest hit by crime to support new safety priorities over corrections spending.
  • Kyle Kaminski, MDOC legislative liaison, provided updates on MDOC efforts to increase employment opportunities for parolees and answered questions.

Noah Smith, CAPPS lobbyist, asked members to watch for information about taking action this fall to support Safe and Smart parole reforms. Now is the time to join CAPPS and sign up friends and family, so you can be sure to be added to our email list for information about how you can help support criminal justice reform.

Thank you to everyone for attending and making this year’s Annual Membership Meeting a success!