Opinion Petition to the Michigan Legislature                        

Increase funds available for other vital state and local human needs

By taking these wise steps to reduce an excessive prison population:

Allow Credit for Good Behavior.  Permit the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) to use this valuable rehabilita-tion tool by providing well-behaved inmates the chance to once more earn monthly/yearly time reductions for obeying its rules.

Honor Older Good Time And Special Good Time Credit Awards.  Instruct the MDOC to stop the unjust practice of withholding sentence reduction credits already promised to some prisoners decades ago as a reward for their earned, positive behaviors during their incarceration period.  Currently, administrators too often unfairly refuse to grant months – or even years – of credits for good behavior instead of honoring its own past practice of recognizing inmate worth by such sentence time reduc-tions.  This failure to be fair wastes millions of dollars by keeping hundreds of older prisoners past their earned release dates.

Rethink Options On LIFERS & Others.  (1) Push the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board (PCB) to offer parolable lifers a release by reducing the subjective criteria being used for denials on some, (2) change sentences for lifers convicted as juveniles to life with the possibility of parole, and (3) encourage expanded investigations and more favorable recommendations to the governor for commutations and pardons (a) for worthy non-parolable lifers who have changed their lives, (b) for those with very long-term sentences who behave well, and (c) for inmates whose cases show evidence of wrongful convictions, raise unusual facts on investigative, prosecutorial, or sentencing abuses, and/or demonstrate other questionable circumstances.

Require Fair Parole Requirements.  Mandate the PCB release prisoners on their first eligibility date unless it can show by substantial and compelling reasons – based upon institutional (prison) behavior – why not.  The PCB now unjustly refuses to re-lease some well-behaved prisoners based on their type of crime, even though the minimum term of time given by the sentencing court already fully takes into account the nature of the crime and other objective variables.  (The maximum term is designed for those who fail to behave in prison life.)  And restore to prisoners the legal right to obtain judicial review for PCB decisions.

Petitioners calling for these corrections’ reforms               

Send your petitions – with one or more signers on each one – to your STATE representative and/or senator.

State Senator ______________________  State Representative ______________________

P.O. Box 30036                                            P.O. Box 30014

Lansing, MI 48909-7536                                          Lansing, MI 48909-7514

Senate Clerk:  517-373-2400                                  House Clerk:  517-373-0135

Relevant Web sites (01/30/11):  www.michigan.gov, www.michigan.gov/corrections, and www.restorativejustice.org