Good Time Ballot Initiative
WAYS TO HELP
There are two great organizations leading the effort to bring real change to the failed prison system in Michigan.
1) MJA Michigan Justice Advocacy - https://mijustice.org
2) MI-CEMI Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration - https://www.libertyandjusticeforallcoalition.org/
Update August 7, 2023 (From MJA)
Hello MJA Supporters!
As you may know this past week we officially rolled out the Good Time website and launched the signature collection campaign to see Good Time on the ballot in Nov. 2024. We are organizing a hierarchy of volunteers and we are reaching out to all of you on who have expressed and demonstrated a level of commitment commensurate with that of what we would identify as a "Zone Leader."
We have received feedback from almost 200 individuals since June who have raised their hands and would be our first choice for you to contact and begin to establish relationships to create these canvassers. We will provide contact information for these individuals broken down by zone once we identify willing Zone Leaders. Please email us if you are willing to take on this role. If you would like to be removed for consideration of this level of leadership (Zone Leader), please let us know what level of support you feel comfortable to commit to (e.g. District Leader or Canvasser).
Also, if you know of anyone who would like to help at the level of Zone Leader it is possible that we have overlooked them. Please let me know if you think someone ought to be contacted and feel free to distribute this message on our behalf.
Finally, if you have not yet visited our new website to watch the training video and take the quiz to obtain the official Good Time Petition file for printing, it would be good for you to start there. Email us at contact@mijustice.org if you have any questions and thanks for all the support you have shown over the course of this effort to see Good Time become law! Let's get this done now!
Michigan Ballot Drive 2023 -2024 Link Below:
Update April 2, 2023 (From MJA)
Good morning, MJA supporters! We want to say THANK YOU to the 1,400 people who have already sent the pre-written letter to legislators in support of Good Time, and to the many of you who went the extra mile and donated to the cause. We cannot do this work alone, and we appreciate each and every one of you for your continued support!
Our goal is to send 15,000 emails before April 20! Send yours and share it with loved ones today!! You can click the link below and share it to your social media pages or email the link to friends and family!
Update Dec 11, 2022
Notes from the Michigan Justice Advocacy town hall meeting today:
- 57 new House members who've never served before, so MJA sch'd a meeting to update them on bills.
- New sessions won't begin until early Feb due to new redistricting laws as members are being shifted around a bit.
- Reps are limited to number of bills they can introduce so MJA has asked many members to Que the GT bill and be ready when it's reintroduced in 2023.
- Bills die at the end of each year (in both chambers) and new numbers will be assigned once they are re-introduced in 2023 (at this point looks like March April time frame).
- GT bill in the House was introduced late to keep the topic of reform going in to the new 2023 session.
- March April time frame MJA will post another email letter (on their website) for us to send to our law makers.
Link to the town hall meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50J_KjG33A
Update Dec 8, 2022
HB 6567-6568 HAS ARRIVED. GOOD TIME IS IN THE HOUSE!!
Update Dec 1 2022
For the 1st time in over 40 years Michigan has the chance for real reform because of the leadership changes taking place. They can help bring our state out of the dark ages and make our communities safer by passing some form of a Good Time bill. A bill that allows for actual rehabilitation instead of the current system which is forced to release people even though they may not be ready. That’s because there’s little to no rehabilitation taking place behind prison walls in Michigan. Why? Because the state is still operating under the archaic Crime Act, enacted under President Bill Clinton, from 1994, which awarded grants to states so long as they use mandatory minimums. These laws take power from judges and give to prosecutors forcing defendants into plea bargains, intensify racial disparities, and prevent judges from taking into account the circumstances surrounding a criminal charge. Legislation so bad that nearly all other states have stopped using it. But now there’s a chance for a positive change in Michigan, a chance to catch up with the rest of the nation. Here’s how YOU can help:
Please call or email your state representative and let them know you support a Good Time bill. Find your rep https://www.house.mi.gov/
MJA update Oct 17, 2022
If you are interested in joining the MJA Board of Directors, please reach out to us at contact@mijustice.org! We are looking to fill the secretary position along with potentially adding more positions!
We are also looking for interns! If you or someone you know would be interested in interning for our MJA, click the link below and share the application with them!
If you are looking for ways to support MJA feel free to speak to your legislators. Email us at contact@mijustice.org if you would like to represent MJA in this way!
MJA update Sep 19, 2022
DeBoer: Community corrections incentives work | Opinion Bill DeBoer
Published in the Detroit News 11:00 p.m. ET Sept. 19, 2022
Right now, 85% of Michigan’s prisoners will eventually be returning to our neighborhoods. How are we preparing these individuals for the transition to society?
The Legislature has an opportunity to adopt bills to incentivize our state’s prisoners to participate in and complete educational and vocational programs that promote job training and give them the skills needed to be effective members of the community.
As Michigan emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature and governor have an incredible opportunity to make investments that will shape our future for decades to come.
But it would be a tremendous oversight for anyone to view this moment as one that can only be seized by spending our state’s budget surplus.
Lansing should be looking to explore new programs to make Michigan a leader in transformational justice programs, to promote job training, knit communities closer together, and yes, save tax dollars into the future.
It’s important that when offenders are sentenced, those sentences mean something, and that’s the law. But for many returning to society at the end of their prison terms, residential re-entry programs offer tools to ensure a safe, secure, and productive transition to a successful life outside. The legislation doesn’t reduce sentences, but it does create a light at the end of the tunnel.
I run a Kalamazoo-based organization called KPEP, a private, nonprofit community corrections organization that has facilities in Muskegon, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor and just southwest of Kalamazoo in Paw Paw. We operate residential treatment, outpatient, transitional housing and vocational training programs that offer a community-based alternative to incarceration for adult offenders.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2022/09/20/deboer-community-corrections-incentives-work/10426583002/ 1/3
9/20/22, 12:17 PM DeBoer: Community corrections incentives work
As president of the Michigan Association for Community Corrections Advancement, I've seen how critical these programs are right now in helping connect local small businesses with qualified employees, and how they improve public safety by creating pathways out of the cycle of crime and incarceration for returning citizens.
My organization helped see through the 1988 passage of Public Act 511, the Michigan Community Corrections Act. Our members operate programs in Flint, Saginaw, Three Rivers, Grand Rapids and Port Huron, and we are hoping to expand.
KPEP and programs like it across Michigan have made a real and significant impact in the lives of those we serve — people like Jen Heath. Jen completed a 6-month program at KPEP following a parole violation on drug charges. She had temporarily lost custody of her children and was determined to turn her life around for them. After completing an intense 90-day residential substance abuse treatment plan, she transitioned to residential treatment, participated in our hospitality vocational training program and worked at Walnut & Park, a café KPEP opened in 2017 to provide employment and training opportunities for our residents and graduates. She kept the job, and her responsibilities grew after graduating from KPEP in 2018. Fast forward to 2022. Jen regained full custody of her children, she just bought her first house, and she’s a manager-in-training at our newest Walnut & Park location in Kalamazoo.
Michigan’s Department of Corrections has already invested state resources into programs like the Vocational Village, which allow those who have completed their sentence to walk out of prison with the training, education, and licensing to immediately start jobs in their chosen industry. Programs like KPEP allow people to receive job training and intensive counseling in a controlled environment, after they leave prison.
Now the state should explore a hybrid approach: allow formerly incarcerated people to earn credits that would allow them to spend the last few months of their sentence in a residential re-entry center. These community settings have been proven to be more effective than programming inside prisons. Participants can get a head start on filling badly needed openings in the job market, only after completing their chosen programs.
Critically for public safety, KPEP’s programs have a demonstrated record of lower recidivism rates than the status quo.
It shouldn’t be partisan or controversial to say that we want as many prisoners as possible to be productive, contributing members of their communities, and therefore not committing new crimes. That’s how we advance public safety.
Bill DeBoer is president of the Michigan Association for Community Corrections
MJA Update
August 22, 2022
Good Monday morning, MJA (Michigan Justice Advocacy) supporters! We want to give a brief update of our plans heading into election season and beyond!
MJA is creating a survey that we will use to collect input from lawmakers and other stakeholders. The survey will focus on specific policies that are currently being proposed in the Michigan Legislature. This will include other policies besides the Senate Good Time Bill, SB649. The purpose of this survey is to learn what positions our lawmakers will take with respect to these critical justice reform policies. It is also to ask what changes, if any, our lawmakers would like to see in order to be able to support specific bills. This information can help us with our quest to see a Good Time law enacted. It will also help other organizations who are advocating for other good reforms learn what our lawmakers are thinking with respect to these individual policy proposals. We hope to be able to publish our findings in time to help guide the voters in Michigan to prepare for the November election.
The second step in our continuing effort to push for Good Time is to introduce a version of the Senate Good Time bill (SB649) in the Michigan House of Representatives. We mentioned this goal earlier this year and have reconsidered the timing of the introduction. There are several reasons we chose to wait until now before urging sponsors to
introduce a bill in the House:
1) The primary elections - Many lawmakers who are running for seats in tough races did not want to put their names on a bill that might cost them their election in August. This makes sense and we reasoned that we can't get much help from a lawmaker if they lose their seat and are no longer in a position to promote/support our goal.
2) The general election - Once every candidate knows whether they've been reelected or not they can then get back to the business of creating laws. If we introduce a Good Time bill in the House after the November election then those who have won their seats can safely weigh in on support. They can put their names on the bill knowing they don't have to worry about being elected. And for those who may have lost their election there is nothing more to lose if they put their name on a bill that likely won't go very far with just a month left in the 2022 legislative session. This is the "Lame Duck" period in politics and there is still value in introducing a bill during this time period.
3) We can gauge the level of support by the number and party affiliation of those who were willing to sponsor the bill. The lame duck session can give a lawmaker some liberty to express their positions with very little political cost. And, we can keep the topic of Good Time on our lawmakers minds right up to the end of this legislative session in December.
The next step is to conduct another series of educational sessions in Lansing in the new legislative session (2023-2024). This would be done early in the year (Jan. or Feb.) for the purpose of acquainting the incoming group of lawmakers to the history and arguments in favor of such a positive incentive policy. Don't forget some of those
coming into Lansing may be brand new to politics so this is the right time to begin this kind of an educational campaign.
Once all of the incoming members of the senate and house have gotten into their new seats, we can then reintroduce the Good Time bill in both chambers. The goal for Good Time in 2023 are to start early and keep raising public awareness. This campaign for Good Time is not a sprint. It won't happen quickly as you know but rather through persistent petitioning of our representatives to simply do the right thing.
As we have been saying all along, Good Time Makes Good Sense.
*** To support this effort and sign the petition: mijustice.org/newletter
Our Goal To cut Michigan mass incarceration in half by 2030.
Michigan falls in the last 10% of the United States to reinstitute #GoodTime credits for its imprisoned citizens. The crime rate in Michigan has fallen 35%, yet the incarceration rate continues to rise. Current policies fail to address the trauma that mass incarceration inflicts on the family and community of the incarcerated, as well as the individual. This bipartisan effort seeks to introduce proven reforms adopted by 44 other states in the country.
Please visit the link below to support this effort.
https://www.libertyandjusticeforallcoalition.org/
2021 - 2022 State Session Bill 649
(Below is info from the efforts to bring a bill to the house floor that would’ve kick started reform in Michigan, but we didn’t make it in time. I’m keeping this info here because it has some great information, and links, as we move forward for the 2023 - 2024 session.)
Michigan prison reform advocates are working hard to bring some form of changes…positive changes, to our state’s failed mass incarceration. The legislative process can be lengthy, but we can help usher it along. Call or email today to request a hearing for SB649, as the bill can not proceed until we can get a hearing. Respectfully let Senator Victory (see Committee link below), and the rest of the committee, know our voices must be heard.
How can YOU help?
** FIRST - Email Senator Victory and request the bill get a hearing. SenRVictory@senate.michigan.gov
Create your own message or use this one:
I am writing this email to request a hearing on SB649: Good Time Credit. As a taxpayer and citizen of the state of Michigan, I feel passionately that we should implement a Good Time credit system for our incarcerated citizens to reduce recidivism, increase safety within the Michigan Department of Corrections for both correction officers and incarcerated citizens, and finally to spend less tax revenue locking people up longer than any other state.
As one of only 6 states with no incentive for incarcerated individuals to better themselves, our 100% Truth in Sentencing law means incarcerated individuals in Michigan will serve on average 6.5 years. This makes us #1 in the country for length of time served. As such, we consistently outspend other states, currently spending 17.9% of our general fund budget on corrections compared to the national average of 6.9%. This does not even begin to acknowledge the human price paid by society and the affected families across our great state. We should instead enable Michigan the ability to allocate future funding to successful reentry programs and crime reduction policies by implementing a Good Time policy.
I strongly believe that victims' voices are paramount in this discussion. To that end, studies show that the majority of victims actually support credit systems that reward good behavior with a reduction in sentence. The majority of crime victims understand that positive motivation creates meaningful change and offers the greatest likelihood of success outside of prison.
Senator Victory, please schedule a hearing for SB0649-0652 so the people of Michigan may finally put an end to the public crisis of mass incarceration. Allow Michigan the opportunity to join the vast majority of the nation in implementing a data driven Good Time policy.
** ALSO - Start by reaching out to these Michigan legislators as they hold the keys to brining this bill to the finish line (link with their info below). Simply call and voice your support for SB649 and let them know you want a safer and stronger Michigan…that’s why YOU support this bill & why THEY should as well.
FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE link:
Then call or email the COMMITTEE that will bring the bill to the floor:
https://committees.senate.michigan.gov/details?com=JUDPS&sessionId=14
HB649 - Good Time bill.
It’s not a get out of jail free card. What it IS…is a way to bring actual rehabilitation to our state’s prison system. It allows those inmates who’ve show progress, personal growth, rehabilitation, and who remain trouble free, a way to sit in front of the parole board a bit sooner. It does not guarantee a release. Right now there is NO rehabilitation in our system, and this bill seeks to change that. It’s a bill which will make our communities safer (because the current system is forced to release inmates without ANY rehabilitation) and save tax payers millions of dollars. Prison reform is no longer a partisan issue. Please help make our state a better place for all of us.