Something's gotta happen! Now!
The fuse
is burning. I fear a pending explosion! We can’t wait any longer.
The plight
of prisoners didn’t get ranked number one in the Governor’s set of priorities,
and perhaps that was explainable. People are dying of the coronavirus.
Hospitals are jammed. Doctors and nurses are frustrated with equipment
shortages. The President and the Governor can’t get along, or don’t want to.
But the
prison situation cannot be ignored any longer.
We’re
talking about 38,000 people here, all caged in Michigan’s 30 prisons. 2,000 of
these people are women, all in one facility in Ypsilanti.
We started
repeating some of the stories, but they’re too common now. Too many of them
sound the same. In these overcrowded facilities, social distancing is almost
impossible. You have people standing in med lines, eating in chow halls, sleeping
in crowded cubes. Prisoners tell us that MDOC reports about plenty of soap,
sanitizer and toilet paper are not true. They’re constantly running out. There
are sanitizer dispensers on the wall, but they are empty. Horror stories
are coming into our office at a record pace.
The President
of the Corrections Officers’ union is quoted in Bridge Magazine as worrying
that the virus will run rampant in one of these prisons. It’s not a far-fetched
worry. Bridge quotes Michigan State University infectious disease expert Peter
Gulick with our worry: “This could be an explosion waiting to happen!”
While the
Department of Corrections is going to have to get a handle on policies and
products, Governor Whitmer can and must make work of reducing the population.
We have
nearly a hundred people in our prisons over 80 years of age, for example. We
have lifers who have been in there 40 years or more. We have people whose
legitimate requests for a commutation of sentence have been stacked in dormant
piles on the Governor’s desk. We have people who deserve pardons. We have
people who will receive parole yet this year, who could be released early. And
this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many more could be released.
We’re not
suggesting that this be handled in a reckless manner. Obviously, we can’t have
infected people released into society. That would just compound the problem.
The Governor and the Parole Board have too much on their plates right now. It’s
time for a special panel or commission, a new system. No more words. It’s time for action!
One prisoner told us: “I have repeatedly heard Corrections Officers, the 'professionals' who are supposed to represent the State of Michigan,
say that Covid19 is the perfect way to reduce the prison population and help
the MDOC fix its budget!”
Pray for
prisoners. Pray for staff. Pray for the Department. Pray for the Governor. Pray
for solutions. Pray for quick action.
Maybe if we
hurry we can douse that fuse before the explosion occurs.
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