2020 was a phenomenal year for criminal justice reform in Michigan, with everything from Clean Slate to the jails task force bills making their way into law. Amid all those victories, however, was one bitter disappointment: drunk driving expungement. In a promising development, however, it appears there may yet be hope for people hoping for [...]
January is the start of Michigan’s 101st Legislature, which will run through the years of 2021-2022. Since the entire House stood for election last year while the Senate did not — its members face re-election in 2022 — state representatives have spent most of their time so far getting prepared for the legislative season. New [...]
The Michigan Jail Task Force on Jail and Pre-Trial Incarceration made 18 recommendations that were turned into legislation. In the last weeks of 2020, the Michigan Legislature passed that legislation and changed the laws but more importantly it will change hundreds of thousands of Michiganders lives for the better. Some of this legislation focused on [...]
This past year has been one of extremes. The COVID-19 pandemic has been tragic and caused enormous loss, as many people with loved ones inside prison know all too well. At the other extreme, it has also been a year of unprecedented gains in criminal justice reforms. In between, all of us at Safe & [...]
Safe & Just Michigan’s mission is to support policy changes that will bring about safer, more just and more equitable communities throughout ours state — including communities that reside within state prisons. However, for the past eight months, COVID-19 has largely been setting the agenda inside our prisons, affecting everything from visits to transfers and [...]
Early on during this pandemic, the thoughtful folks at AFSC-Michigan, and here at Safe & Just Michigan, had an idea to create a safe space for families and loved ones of men and women incarcerated. As prisons ended visits out of COVID-19 fears, we wanted to create a space for people who might want a [...]
Employers shouldn’t shun job applicants who have been incarcerated or who have criminal convictions on their records, leading human resource experts said during a webinar co-hosted Wednesday by SHRM — the Society for Human Resource Management — and Safe & Just Michigan, a Lansing, Mich.-based organization that advances criminal justice reforms. The event, titled “Best [...]
The 2020 election is shaping up to be an historic event. We are now just days away from Election Day, and already, many political commentators are expecting to see record voter turnout. This is a great thing, because the more people who vote, the more voices that are heard. Having a Criminal Record is Not [...]
It has only been a couple months since I took part in the Juvenile Lifers Summer Camp retreat. However, during this pandemic, time has somehow seemed to have slowed a bit. I was a little bummed because my friend Walter had informed me that he could not attend the latest Metal Health Art Workshop because [...]
Last week, Safe & Just Michigan released its first report in five years! Our new report examines the 40-year history of the felony firearm statute and the effect it has had on Michigan residents and prisons. Michigan’s felony firearm statute makes it a crime for a person to be in possession of a firearm during [...]