Editorial: Presumptive Parole is safe for Michigan Enquirer editorial board 7:25 p.m. EDT October 15, 2015:It’s infuriating when politicians, bereft of facts, resort to fear-mongering to get their way in public policy debates. When it’s the state’s top law enforcement official, it’s disgraceful. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s intransigence on so-called “tough on crime” policies is [...]
New Statewide Poll Shows Broad, Bipartisan Support for Smarter Justice; public overwhelmingly supports presumptive parole, other reforms OCTOBER 1 - Today the Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending (CAPPS) released a new poll showing broad, bipartisan support for corrections reform measures currently moving through the Michigan House of Representatives. “This poll shows Michiganders strongly agree [...]
CAPPS's latest newsletter is available for reading Download>> Summer Fall 2015 CAPPS Update INSIDE THIS ISSUE: CAPPS REPORT | PRESUMPTIVE PAROLE REFORM | FELONY FIREARM REFORM | LEVINE APPOINTED TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY COMMISSION | CAPPS IN THE NEWS | CAPPS OUTREACH/THANKS | CAPPS LEGISLATIVE DAY
CAPPS’s June report, 10,000 Michigan prisoners: Strategies to reach the goal, detailed about two-dozen recommendations for safely reducing the Michigan prison population. Each recommendation is supported by relevant data and policy information. The report has been hailed as a “roadmap for legislators” by both conservative and liberal commentators and has received widespread editorial and media [...]
Click to read online at MLIVE.com: William G. Milliken: Time to reverse Michigan's failed, costly imprisonment policies Read online Analysis of HB 4138 Failed policies of the past have kept people in prison long beyond the time they were safe to release, former Gov. William G. Milliken says. William G. Milliken was governor of Michigan [...]
The Detroit Free Press Editorial Board | July 14, 2015 An excerpt from Detroit Free Press editorial on the State of Michigan's decision to end its contract with prison food vendor, Aramark Correctional Services, early: "To truly reduce the cost of running our prison system, the state should change the way it sentences and paroles prisoners. [...]
Sunday’s Lansing State Journal column by Judy Putnam discusses the conservative and liberal support for CAPPS’s recommendations; you can thank the author at Jputnam@Lsj.com or comment online. Judy Putnam: Report offers ways to slim prison ranks Lansing State Journal | July 11, 2015 "A blueprint on how to reduce the number of prisoners in Michigan [...]
Downsizing Prisons Toledo Blade | July 13, 2015 "Get-tough policies such as three-strikes laws, most of which took effect in the 1980s, have more than quadrupled the nation’s prison population in the past 40 years. Ohio’s prisons held fewer than 8,000 inmates in 1974, compared to more than 50,000 last year. The race to incarcerate [...]
"How parole boards keep prisoners behind in the dark and behind bars" is an important investigative piece on parole board processes throughout the United States, featuring the case of a Michigan lifer. CAPPS's director of research and policy, Barbara Levine, is quoted. Washington Post: How parole boards keep prisoners in the dark and behind bars [...]
New CAPPS report lays out roadmap to safely reduce Michigan’s prison population On June 11, CAPPS announced the release of a new report titled: 10,000 fewer Michigan prisoners: Strategies to reach the goal. This report examines the key factors that led to a striking increase in Michigan’s prison population over the last three decades, and recommends a [...]