On Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, John Cooper, our associate director of policy & research, traveled to Lakeland Correctional Facility to present at the monthly meeting of Chapter #1013 of the National Lifers of America organization (“NLA”). NLA is a statewide prisoner-based organization with an active membership in many prisons in Michigan. Its purpose is to [...]
Solving the problem of how to get more people to get on board with criminal justice reform was the theme of the night at Safe & Just Michigan’s Annual Membership Meeting and dinner, held Thursday, Oct. 18 at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing. The event, attended by nearly 200 people, featured speakers Leon El-Alamin from [...]
Edward Sanders was just 17 years old in 1975 when a judge told him he would never walk free again. Though he hadn’t pulled the trigger, he had been convicted as an accessory to a first-degree homicide in Michigan, one of four states that still requires 17-year-olds to be tried as adults in certain [...]
On May 2, Barbara Levine, CAPPS associate director, and John Cooper, CAPPS policy director, testified before House of Representatives Law and Justice Committee, at the invitation of the chair, Rep. Kesto (R – District 39). Cooper identified the policies that fueled Michigan’s prison growth over recent decades. We currently incarcerate about 41,000 individuals at a [...]
The Sentencing Project recently put out a new report on the ever-increasing length of time served by parolable lifers, even when they get released. Click here for the report: Delaying a Second Chance: The Declining Prospects for Parole on Life Sentences . The report surveys practices in many states, including Michigan, and contains recommendations for:-- reducing the minimum number [...]