|
|
| Michigan prison reform gaining momentum in fall session |
| By bridgemi.com- Ron French |
| Published: 09/24/2015 |
|
The 60-year-old Michigan woman didn’t sound like a danger to society. She’d never had a criminal record until 2013, when she was convicted twice of larceny, and sentenced to 13 months to four years in prison, according to Barbara Levine, of the Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending (CAPPS), a prison reform group. According to Levine, the woman is a model prisoner with her only misconduct notice for showing up to receive medicine 30 minutes early. Yet when her minimum sentence was served, the 60-year-old was denied parole. “Based on all the information viewed, the prisoner does not have the tools she needs to help reduce her risk to the public,” the parole board noted, according to Levine. That 60-year-old thief is a part of what prison reform advocates say is a big-time problem for Michigan, where the budget for the Department of Corrections swallows 20 percent of the state’s General Fund, which pays for most state services. Addressing the economic – and human – costs of Michigan’s prison system was the topic of a corrections reform symposium Tuesday in Lansing. About 100 people, ranging from legislators and advocates to family members of current prisoners, met to discuss ways to decrease the state’s prison population, an idea that is generating bipartisan support in Lansing, and nationally. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think