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Featured Blogs
Inside Voices – February 2023
Think twice before demanding Bernstein resignation There’s no mistaking Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein’s Freudian Slip objection to newly appointed Justice Kyra Bolden’s hiring ex-felon Pete Martel as one of her law clerks as [...]
Meet Kenneth Nixon, our new Director of Community Outreach and Partnerships
It’s tragic that Kenneth Nixon’s false conviction cost him 16 years of freedom, but it’s fair to wonder, perhaps selfishly, what it cost everyone else. Since his 2021 release from prison, Kenneth has proven to [...]
Inside Voices – January 2023
Inside Voices is an opportunity for our members who are incarcerated to voice their ideas and opinions to the outside world. Since they can't access our monthly electronic newsletter, Safe & Just Michigan prints a [...]
Do judges deserve second chances?
(NOTE: Safe & Just Michigan is nonpartisan and doesn’t make political endorsements. Ronnie Waters, our community engagement specialist, is speaking about his own personal endorsement of Justice Richard Bernstein.) SJM Community Engagement Specialist Ronnie [...]
Overview of 2023-24 Session Judiciary Committees
On Thursday, Jan. 12 — the second day of the new session — the incoming Democratic majorities in the Michigan House and Senate announced committee assignments. For those of us interested in criminal justice issues, [...]
Meet Kimberly Woodson, our new Fund Development Fellow
Kimberly Woodson was almost locked away forever. We should all be grateful she wasn’t. Not only has she started a Detroit-based nonprofit to help others reintegrate into the community after coming home from prison, Safe [...]
Meet Scott Tompkins, our new Fund Development Fellow
Growth is carried out over the course of an entire lifetime. This is a concept that resonates well with Scott Tompkins. Over his lifetime, he has been a father, a journalist, an educator, a community organizer [...]
Meet our new social work intern Lucas Day
Lucas Day is still learning. A graduate from the Michigan State school of journalism and now a student pursuing a master’s degree in social work degree from MSU, Lucas has learned more through his interviews [...]
Meet Safe & Just Michigan’s New Senior Research Specialist Cassie Larrieux
Cassie Larrieux is comfortable with data. She can talk about ratios and intervals or qualitative and quantitative information like most people can talk about what was on television last night or who won the big [...]
Meet Safe & Just Michigan’s New Grants Manager Cecilia Zavala
When Cecilia Zavala was a girl growing up in Detroit, she dreamed of one day dressing up in suits and going to work downtown, where she’d have a job as “the boss.” Becoming a mother [...]
Why Restoring Good Time is Good Policy
For most of its history, Michigan had a generous, progressive “good time” system that reduced a prisoner’s parole eligibility date for every month they did not receive a citation for misconduct. (See: Barbara Levine, Citizens [...]
A Day in the Life of a Community Engagement Specialist
One of the most rewarding things about working for criminal justice reform is getting people interested in transforming our court and prison systems and watching the momentum for change build, both in Michigan and nationwide. [...]