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criminal justice reform

Whitmer signs “Clean Slate” criminal justice package

By Kevin Lavery | WKAR • Oct 12, 2020
rollingroscoe / Morguefile

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed a sweeping package of bills that will allow thousands to expunge their criminal records after they’ve served their sentences.

The legislation enables thousands of people who’ve been denied housing, employment and other opportunities because of past criminal convictions a chance to clear their records.

Michigan ACLU campaign calls for prosecutor accountability

By • Jun 18, 2020
Wikipedia

The ACLU of Michigan is launching a campaign to hold prosecutors responsible for inequities in the criminal justice system.

The group says prosecutors are the single most powerful elected individuals who decide who gets incarcerated, and for how long.

Early data provide clues in effort to shrink Wayne County Jail population

By • Oct 18, 2019
rollingroscoe / Morguefile

Wayne County is in the middle of an effort to reduce its jail population, and it’s just received some early data to help guide that effort.

The county is teaming up with the New York-based Vera Institute of Justice to figure out who goes to jail, and who might not need to be there.

Stateside: Governor and GOP meet on budget; preventing tax foreclosure; money for isolated schools

By Stateside Staff • Oct 10, 2019
Whiskey Point, at the west end of the harbor at Beaver Island.
Sarah Hulett / Michigan Radio

Today on Stateside, we hear the latest from Lansing after Governor Whitmer met with top Republican leaders in the state Legislature. Plus, what Michigan can learn from Norway’s prison and mental health systems. 

Bills would make more Michiganders eligible for expungement

By • Sep 9, 2019
Sarah Cwiek / Michigan Radio

A bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers says it’s time to change state law and let more people expunge their criminal records.

Current state law only allows people convicted of certain offenses to expunge one felony or two misdemeanors. Lawmakers say that’s too narrow, and keeps too many people from really getting a second chance—especially when it comes to getting a job.

After years of state opposition, teens allegedly raped in adult prisons to get their day in court

By Stateside Staff • Jul 9, 2019
Photo inside a prison.
Unsplash

Hundreds of young men in Michigan say they were sexually assaulted while serving time in adult prisons when they were still teenagers. The state's Department of Corrections, they allege in a class action lawsuit, failed to provide them with adequate protection. 

Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court cleared the legal path for these men to sue the state of Michigan for damages.

What Michigan can learn from California’s effort to expunge marijuana convictions

By Stateside Staff • May 14, 2019
A police car seen through the side mirror on a car.
Craig Finlay / Creative Commons

There are roughly 50,000 people in Michigan who have been convicted of cannabis-related crimes. Now that voters have legalized recreational marijuana, advocates are working to get those convictions cleared.

That same process began in California after voters legalized recreational cannabis there in 2016. We talk to Capital Public Radio reporter Scott Rodd about what Michigan might learn from California's experience. 

“This is no way to run a justice system”: Detroit nonprofit works toward a future without bail

By • Jul 31, 2018
bail bonds
Thomas Hawk / FLICKR - http://bit.ly/1xMszCg

One of the core philosophies of U.S. criminal law is the presumption of innocence, that defendants charged with crimes are innocent until proven guilty.