The incarcerated: They ARE persons to us!

Sunshine Week came and went earlier this month, without even a squawk from this corner.  I apologize for that. For those not familiar with the observance, Sunshine Week was created to raise awareness and appreciation for our access to public information and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 

When it was adopted in 1976, the act stated that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees. 

Some years later, the Michigan Department of Corrections rebelled, saying that these FOIA requests from prisoners were taking too much of their time, and were costing millions of dollars. Instead of making some provisions that would prevent prisoners from filing frivolous requests, in typical knee-jerk style, the state legislature of Pure Michigan took action in 1994 that flatly stated that incarcerated individuals are not persons. 

My friend Adam, who, while he was a guest of the Michigan Department of Corrections, was incensed when he was denied documents requested under FOIA, with this explanation: 

“’Person’ means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, firm, organization, association, governmental entity or other legal entity. ‘Person’ does not include an individual serving a sentence of imprisonment in a state or county correctional facility in this state or any other state, or in a federal correctional facility.” 

Says Adam: “You can’t take my humanity, only I can surrender it. You can’t take my personhood, but then grant it to an entity like a corporation." 

I’m proud to say that HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS is taking a strong stand on this issue, and is putting its action where its mouth is. We have found that there are many prisoners who have legitimate needs for documents. And so, we have specialists who file the requests on their behalf and get the results to them. It’s arduous work, time-consuming, and often frustrating. But it’s also rewarding! Last year, our team filed some 550 FOIA requests for Michigan inmates. Some with outstanding results. All with sincere gratitude! 

Sadly, Pure Michigan cannot make much of a boast for Sunshine Week observance. We are one of only 3 states that deny this civil right to the incarcerated without question. 

Phhhttt!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to c...
Read more