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Sticking up for the little guy, inside and outside of prison cells

Here’s a problem that few people know about: Approximately 6% of the Michigan Department of Corrections budget is spent on overtime pay! Because of staff shortages corrections officers are working long hours. So many overtime hours, in fact, that it’s costing the state more than $112 million per year!   The problem is easily explained. Approximately half of Michigan's prisons are understaffed, with a shortage of around 900 officers statewide!   An in-depth report written by MLive reporter Nathan Clark tells the story well. And, it has clout because it reaches Michigan readers of 9 different newspapers.   On the other hand, instead of making that kind of impact along comes Doug Tjapkes, a little guy, a small market journalist whose radio station had 500 watts, who’s living in a city of 3,000 people, and who has no clout whatsoever. My mantra, in all my careers, has been to speak up for the little guy. So, regardless of impact or clout, I’d like to turn the focus fro...
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Michigan prisons = mental institutions? Are you crazy?

“Lock him up and throw away the key!”   You’ll be hearing talk like that, once again, as Bradford Gille gets processed through the justice system. Gille is the man who stabbed 11 people at a Walmart in Traverse City on July 26. His family had been unsuccessfully trying to get help for this mentally challenged man for years. Now he faces 11 charges of assault with intent to murder, as well as one terrorism charge.   Even though Gille is obviously struggling with severe mental illness and needs appropriate psychiatric care and hospitalization, there is always the possibility that public clamor and aggressive criminal justice officials might determine that he’s well enough to be tried.   Sadly, it’s really the State of Michigan that is to blame, and who’s going to punish the state?   Since 1965, we closed 36 hospitals and centers serving adults with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and emotionally disturbed children. Between 1987 and 2003 alone, Mich...
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Heat wave. Hot topic! Hot prisoners!

It’s dang hot these days! A widespread and dangerous heat wave is currently affecting a large portion of the United States, particularly right here in the Midwest.   Daily we hear reports about the most vulnerable people affected by this hot weather. The focus is often on the homeless, but others include outdoor workers, pregnant women and low-come folks, especially children and the elderly. And, to their credit, many agencies and organizations are coming to their rescue.   Sadly, there’s another segment of our society seriously affected by the heat: prisoners. We hear very little about their plight. Maybe that’s because they “deserve” what they get. This is a critical problem nationally, but also right here in Michigan.   For example, one of our clients warns that the heat conditions at St. Louis Correctional Facility are a potential health risk. He said that “they are closing the door grates even during the heat advisory.” The Deputy Warden told HFP that it’s the ...
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Maurice Carter Day: A time to consider racism. Right here!

Just what the heck is “Maurice Carter Day?”   Well, I and the team at HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS feel that, on July 24, we should honor the memory of Maurice…the guy who thought up the idea for HFP's existence.   Maurice, an indigent Black man from Gary, Indiana, was wrongly arrested, convicted and sentenced to life behind bars in Michigan’s Berrien County back in the 70s. I met him in the 90s, and for the next decade we fought for his exoneration and freedom. We never got the exoneration, but he was released on July 24, 2004 for medical reasons after serving 29 years. He died three months later.   But, we must do more than honor the memory of this kind and gentle man. I think it’s time to focus on racism, especially in our justice (or non-justice) system. I know, I know…racism is rife in the deep south, right? We live in the north.   Let me share a few figures with you…stats that come, not from the deep south, but from right here in Pure Michigan.   - Mu...
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Prison visits are important. So is your help!

So, here’s what often happens in our state prisons.   Numerous Michigan prisoners are not allowed to visit with their spouses, kids and loved ones, indefinitely, because of tickets they received for alleged misconduct. This is especially true for those prisoners who have received two or more Class I Substance Abuse misconducts within a five-year period. This means that the prisoner gets no visits from anyone…friends or loved ones, nor can he or she have video calls from anyone and everyone on the visitation list, even children !   I will interrupt our conversation here to explain that we (the HFP team) know quite a bit about this stuff. Two of our staff members have spent more than 40 years behind bars and they can tell many sad stories.   Because of our experience in this field, the HFP Board of Directors was quick to endorse a new bill, introduced in the state’s House of Representatives, that would modify this situation. Citizens for Prison Reform, a fine prisone...
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Helping sex offenders? Are you kidding?

We don’t like sex offenders.   Let’s face it. many liberal Americans will stand behind illegal immigrants, transgender persons, gays, mentally challenged individuals and homeless people. But sex offenders? Nope! No way!   Well, you and I have a problem. Right here in Michigan we have some 4,000 sex offenders in our state prisons, and most are going to be released someday. However, we’ve placed so many hurdles in their path that successful reentry is very difficult and recidivism is very possible. These men and women can’t get housing, can’t get jobs, can’t avoid the social stigma attached to their record, and face all kinds of problems due to our sex offender registration system.   They are even shunned in the Christian community. Many churches develop policies regarding sex offenders including conditional attendance, perhaps other risk management strategies, and in some cases, even total exclusion.   I’d like to introduce you to CoSA   CoSA (Circle of...
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No pension for prison guards. Shameful!

  As guest speaker for a senior citizens seminar on a college campus I was invited to explain the work of HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS.   I make extensive use of anecdotes in my public presentations about this work. Facts and figures may be impressive to a few people, but stories about the lives of fellow human beings are far more attention-getting.   In that the HFP staff helps men and women with many issues and problems they face living in Michigan’s 27 correctional facilities you can well imagine that many of my stories have a negative flavor. Before concluding my speech, I had some unpleasant things to say about prison guards and their mistreatment of inmates. At the conclusion of my presentation a very nice elderly woman politely raised her hand. “I have a son who is a corrections officer,” she had. “He has a college degree, he does his job well, and he loves his work!” That was an important reminder for me: All the apples in the bushel are not rotten!   That li...
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