Humanity for Prisoners

Former Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections Dan Heyns once referred to the people housed in our state prison system as “the worst of the worst!”  I chided him on that, and he later recanted, in a private email to me.  I wish Dan Heyns had been with me Saturday.  A group of guys in the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson, all part of a positive and exciting project called Chance for Life, were concluding a month-long emphasis on peace.  And we’re not just talking world peace here.  The focus of their Peace Initiative got right down to personal peace, peace between each other, and peace between inmates and staff. It was a day of guest speeches and special recognition.  I was honored to deliver the keynote speech.  But that’s not the reason for my desire to have Heyns there.  Before my speech, as the program got underway, one of the presiding inmates read this statement about respecting diversity:  The concep...

I’m going to share a sad story with you today.  It comes from my friend Linda, who is a prisoner here in the State of Michigan.  Normally, before we publish stories like this, we tweak them, brush them up, rearrange them, to make them look and sound nice.  Not so this time.  I’m going to let the narrative take its erratic path so that you can actually hear the sobbing hiccups, feel the dampness of the tears. Linda tells the story of a fellow prisoner named Michelle, who is no longer with us. I have been in this unit since April 11. Michelle went to diabetic lines every morning and evening. I never knew Michelle as a healthy woman. For these few months, every time a health care professional walked through the waiting room, Michelle asked, “please help me, when am I going to be seen, I hurt so much.” I worked in the medical profession for several years, and in that time I have never seen edema as bad as hers. Her legs were not only swollen, but as her leg rest...

Buoyed by the success of the PICKING COTTON community book read a year ago, the HFP Development Committee decided on two important fund-raising events for 2016.  With plans to bring a Broadway-style production to our community, DRIVING MISS DAISY was scheduled for the spring of 2016.  And, hoping to establish the tradition of a community book reading event in the autumn, nationally known activist Sister Helen Prejean, author of DEAD MAN WALKING, was booked for next month. Sadly, the dread disease of cancer has resulted in cancelations of both. Shortly before the play was due to be produced in Grand Haven, a member of the small cast was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  And just weeks before our fall fund-raiser, Sister Prejean was forced to cancel due to the terminal illness of her sister.  In both situations, this was not just a schedule conflict that could be quickly modified and remedied.  Neither program could be rescheduled in the foreseeable future...

My wife pokes fun of me as we’re watching the ball game on TV.  One announcer’s sing-song voice just hits me wrong every time, as she croons at the end of a commercial:  “We’re here for you.” I’m thinking of those very words at the end of a busy week here in the HFP office. Family members contacted us on a number of very serious issues, and when that happens Matt and I pounce on them, because---as in one case---it could even be a matter of life and death. There was a call from a worried sister, out-of-state, who feels so helpless when operating by remote control.  Her brother, whose behavior and moods are seriously affected by fetal alcohol syndrome, had been under the wing of a caring corrections officer.  But then the inmate was transferred.  Now he’s alone and scared.  He thinks one of the COs has it in for him, and he doesn’t dare leave his cell for supper.  He’s afraid his possessions will get stolen from his room.  The fathe...

There’s an interesting story developing in the Muskegon court system these days, but I can tell you now that the defendant is going to come out on the short end of the stick.  It’s really a “he said/she said” situation, but there’s a pattern there that you should be aware of.  According to the news reports, the attorney for a prisoner says he was promised immunity before he testified.  After he testified, the Prosecutor’s office refused to admit that this was the deal.  Nope.  No deal.  Said defense attorney Naesha Leys, “I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire 16 years of practicing law.”  If she’s going to keep on practicing law in Muskegon County she’d better get used to it. You’ve heard me tell the story about Jimmy in this column before.  He was convicted in Muskegon County in the early 80s.  Many years later, while in prison, another prisoner personally admitted involvement in a murder case.  Jimmy was so upset abo...

There’s an interesting story developing in the Muskegon court system these days, but I can tell you now that the defendant is going to come out on the short end of the stick.  It’s really a “he said/she said” situation, but there’s a pattern there that you should be aware of.  According to the news reports, the attorney for a prisoner says he was promised immunity before he testified.  After he testified, the Prosecutor’s office refused to admit that this was the deal.  Nope.  No deal.  Said defense attorney Naesha Leys, “I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire 16 years of practicing law.”  If she’s going to keep on practicing law in Muskegon County she’d better get used to it. You’ve heard me tell the story about Jimmy in this column before.  He was convicted in Muskegon County in the early 80s.  Many years later, while in prison, another prisoner personally admitted involvement in a murder case.  Jimmy was so upset abo...