The COVID-19 crisis presents an unprecedented challenge to our country that touches on all aspects of our society, including the criminal justice system. Knowing that there is broad public support for taking steps to protect incarcerated people in Michigan prisons will help us advise state decision-makers, and helps those elected leaders feel confident as they [...]
It has been a difficult few weeks full of changes and challenges for all of us, We want to send our best wishes to you, your friends, and to your family during these trying times. One helpful things to do during a crisis is to keep connected and maintain a sense purpose. That’s why we’re [...]
(This is the second post in a series Safe & Just Michigan is running on Michigan’s habitual offender laws. Other posts include: Can my sentence be used against me and more to be written as the series continues.) At Safe & Just Michigan, we generally use human-centered language. However, to keep technical concepts clear in [...]
(Please note: the following blog post contains the reflections of formerly incarcerated people in their own words, and it covers material that is emotionally sensitive such as rape and gun violence.) Daniel Jones’ life changed forever when his parents separated when he was just a young boy. Up to then, he felt secure and [...]
I walked into my first Day of Empathy event nearly four years ago feeling terrified, socially averse and embarrassed. I was ashamed and had been shamed. I had only recently completed my three years of incarceration and a bit more than two years of parole and probation. The memory of being paraded, in a bright [...]
When someone is sentenced to prison, they aren’t the only one doing hard time. The people who wait for them at home — their friends, their family, their loved ones — also experience the hardships of incarceration. That’s the message behind the film “Locked Out,” created through the hard work of Citizens for Prison Reform [...]
(This is the first post in a series Safe & Just Michigan is running on Michigan’s habitual offender laws.) (At Safe & Just Michigan, we generally use human-centered language. However, to keep technical concepts clear in this blog post, we will adhere to legal terminology, which is unfortunately not human-centered.) A new senate bill package [...]
Mary Lynn Stevens always told me that her job as development director for Safe & Just Michigan was the capstone of her career. After all, it brought together many of the things she is most passionate about in her life: her thirst for justice, her love of connecting people to causes they care about and [...]
In January 2020, the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration issued a list of 18 legislative action items that — if enacted — could revolutionize Michigan’s county jails and the lives of the people who come into contact with them. The task force drafted their recommendations after holding six meetings across Michigan. [...]
What happens when you bring a task force together including Democrats, Republicans, legislators, victims-rights advocates, county commissioners, law enforcement officers, and formerly incarcerated people? A list of 18 recommendations designed to reduce the jail population across the entire state. According to the original executive order the Michigan Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration was [...]