Courts

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 to die, and another seven states currently have no one serving such a sentence. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court [...]

2023-04-27T14:18:49-04:00April 27th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Courts, Juveniles, Lifers, Parole, Reentry|

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 racism, bigotry, or discrimination. But calls for Bernstein’s resignation are unwarranted because his outburst isn’t reflective of the “blind justice” [...]

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 be a skilled problem solver and coalition builder. As president of the Organization of the Exonerees, he has worked with [...]

2023-02-21T15:21:32-05:00February 21st, 2023|Categories: Blog, Courts, Crime survivors, Racial equity, Reentry, Sentencing|

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 Waters (left) with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein in the summer of 2022. When Michigan Supreme Court Justice [...]

2023-01-27T14:41:59-05:00January 27th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Courts, Reentry|

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 — and someone sentenced to 18 months in prison. Now back home in northern Michigan, Scott wants to put all [...]

2022-10-11T15:15:41-04:00October 11th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Courts, Prison programs, Reentry|

From prosecuted to working for the prosecutor’s office: A story of continuing transformation

Former juvenile lifer Edward Sanders starts work for Washtenaw County's Conviction Integrity & Expungement Unit (Safe & Just Michigan first interviewed Edward Sanders, a former juvenile lifer, in July 2018, after he had been released from prison for about a year. Since then, he has contacted us periodically to keep us up-to-date on [...]

2021-07-09T01:47:55-04:00July 8th, 2021|Categories: Blog, Courts, Juveniles, Lifers, Racial equity, Reentry, Sentencing, Trauma|