Michigan
Articles
03/22/2010 – The Detroit Free Press: “Editorial: New Sentencing Limits Can Help On Fairness“
“Legislators must find compromises and common ground this year that will begin to control Michigan’s $2-billion corrections budget and bring its incarceration rates to levels closer to those of surrounding Great Lakes states.”
03/08/2010 – The Detroit News: “Gov’s Plan to Release Inmates Under Fire”, by Karen Bouffard
“Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s plan to cut the prison population through awarding “good time” credits, opening halfway houses and hiring parole officers is raising concerns among law-and-order activists of a possible crime wave.”
06/05/2009 – Chicago Tribune: “Michigan Announces Closure of 8 Prison Facilities”, by David Eggert
“Three state prisons and all five of Michigan’s minimum-security prison camps will be closed this year to save money as the number of inmates keeps dropping, Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration said Friday.”
01/25/2009 – Battle Creek Enquirer: “Editorial: Revising Parole Rules Weigh Safety, Costs“
“Maintaining public safety is a vital function of government. But officials also are obligated to utilize taxpayer dollars as efficiently as possible.”
01/22/2009 – The Associated Press: “Granholm, Lawmakers Endorse Parole Changes”, by David Eggert
“Lawmakers and Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Thursday endorsed changes in parole policies that would drop Michigan’s prison population by thousands and save $262 million in corrections costs by 2015.”
01/22/2009 – The Associated Press: “Granholm, Lawmakers to Unveil Prison Spending Cuts”, by David Eggert
“Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers may be closer to agreeing on ways to cut spending on state prisons.”
01/09/2009 – Crain’s Detroit Business: “Editorial: Business Should Get Behind Prison Reform“
“No business group is advocating the release of dangerous offenders. But business groups should unite across the state to demand that lawmakers act to reduce prison operating costs and use some of the savings to bring tax relief for business.”
04/15/2008 – The Detroit News: “State Seeks Ways to Control Prison Costs”, by Gary Heinlein and Charlie Cain
“Michigan’s prison crunch will continue until at least 2010, because state policymakers have abandoned plans to revise sentencing policies and free old, sick and nonviolent convicts.”
04/15/2008 – The Detroit News: “2 Counties, 2 Methods of Punishment”, by Charlie Cain
“Muskegon and Kalamazoo counties take different approaches to crime”
07/09/2007 – The Detroit News:“Follow Texas Lead in Reforming State Prisons”, by Glenn Gilbert
“The U.S. now has more than two million people behind bars. In Michigan, that surge is eating up scarce state funds that are needed for investment in higher education and economic development—the essentials to rebuilding the state economy.”