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Featured Blogs
Meet Safe & Just Michigan’s Policy & Advocacy Manager Jazmine Wells
Something happened to Jazmine Wells on her way to becoming a prosecuting attorney: she visited a jail. Specifically, she visited jail as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan through her participation in a [...]
Meet Zack Whaley, our new communications specialist
The technical aspects of photography, videography, and sound design have always been fascinating to Zack Whaley. He has spent many afternoons casually reading white papers on video compression algorithms or stacked CMOS image sensors. He [...]
Don’t Throw Away the Key on Michigan’s Youth — Bring Them Home
The Michigan Legislature is considering a proposal to end juvenile life without parole in Michigan. Fully half the states and Washington, D.C., have already taken this step, banning the practice of sending children to prison [...]
Leon Douglas testimony in Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee
Leon Douglas provides testimony in support of Senate Bills 119-123 at the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on April 20, 2023. Download>> Leon Douglas Written Testimony on Senate Bill 119_123
Inside Voices – March 2023
Let medically frail go home Some years ago, I read (and saved) a newspaper article that stated a couple of interesting statistics. First, that “Michigan prisons hold about 9,000 prisoners who are at least 50.” [...]
April brings Second Chances to Michigan
We use the phrase “second chances” so often in criminal justice reform work that it can sometimes sound like a buzzword. We urge employers to adopt second-chance hiring to give people with a criminal record [...]
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 [...]