|
|
| Michigan inmates fall to seven-year low |
| By detnews.com |
| Published: 05/18/2009 |
|
Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau Lansing -- Michigan's prison population is at a seven-year low and for the first time a limited number of maximum security prisoners are being double-bunked as a way to save money. The state has 47,706 inmates, down more than 7 percent from the record population of 51,454 in December 2006. Corrections officials say they are on track to reduce the population to 44,000 by Oct. 1. That should allow the state to close several prisons besides the two prisons and one prison camp that have ceased operations this year. With tax collections tanking, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and state lawmakers are eager to trim prison costs, which at $2 billion annually account for about one-fifth of all general fund spending. The governor's budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1 calls for a $120 million cut in prison spending. "We have been paroling inmates at a rapid rate and the prison intake is down as well," said Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Corrections Department. He said it looks like 1,070 people will be paroled from prison during May -- up 30 percent from last year. Granholm beefed up the size of the parole board this year to speed up the release of non-violent inmates who have served longer than their minimum term. There are 1,400 empty beds in state prisons that were once filled to capacity. Last week, corrections officials closed three housing units at two Upper Peninsula facilities to save $1.3 million by Oct. 1. The 184 inmates at two closed units at Alger Maximum Correctional Facility in Munising were shipped to other state prisons. Another unit with 103 inmates was closed at Marquette Branch Prison in Marquette. More than 60 inmates were transferred, while 50 were moved to other units at the facility to share cells with other inmates, a first for the state. "We won't double-bunk maximum security inmates who will be a danger to other inmates or corrections officers," Marlan said. But Mel Grieshaber, executive director of the Michigan Corrections Organization, which represents 8,500 prison officers, said he fears the move will endanger inmates and guards. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
He has blue eyes. Cold like steel. His legs are wide. Like tree trunks. And he has a shock of red hair, red, like the fires of hell. His antics were known from town to town as he was a droll card and often known as a droll farceur. Hamilton Lindley with his madcap pantaloon is a zany adventurer and a cavorter with a motley troupe of buffoons.
https://casetext.com/brief/jones-et-al-v-pfizer-inc-et-al_motion-for-settlement-and-plan-of-allocation-motion-for-attorney-fees-and