Lois Pullano: A hero to men and women in Michigan prisons!

March 1, 2026. HFP’s award-winning documentary--- WRONGED: THE MAURICE CARTER STORY---was scheduled for a screening as part of the Lake Michigan Film Festival in Okemos, Michigan. Immediately following the showing of our film, another powerful documentary--- MICHIGAN VISITS MATTER: THE FAMILY COST OF INCARCERATION, commissioned by CPR, was to be shown. HFP founder Doug Tjapkes and CPR founder Lois Pullano would be in attendance. 

It was no surprise that, when the two of us met in the lobby of Studio C: Meridian Mall theater, we threw our arms around each other 

Many people know my story.

I’m a small market radio newsman whose life was changed in the 1990s upon meeting an indigent Black man sitting in the Michigan prison system and claiming wrongful conviction. That led to a 9-year fight to obtain his freedom. Maurice Carter and I became brothers! As a result of that experience, I started a little one-man operation now known as HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS.

Today, however, I’d like to focus the spotlight on my friend Lois. We have a long history.

In 2007 I met this Lansing mother of a young son who was struggling with bipolar and personality disorder. She was unable to find appropriate help for him, as many Michigan mental institutions had been closed. When that happened, prisons became a substitute facility for the mentally challenged.. Her son was in and out of jail in his early teen years, and that is when Lois and I connected. I made it a point to visit her teenaged son in prison... a young lad who, shamefully, at the age of 15, was thrown into the lion’s den of an adult prison! 

She, too, decided it was time to do something. Her son's plight turned into a mission. In 2011 she founded CITIZENS FOR PRISON REFORM, an advocacy group for Michigan prisoners and their families. Lois may be small in stature, but she’s a giant in this field of prisoner advocacy! 

Her organization set its focus on some lofty goals: 

-Promoting alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders;

-Advocating for improved rehabilitation programs within prisons;

-Supporting policies that reduce recidivism rates through education and job training;

-Raising awareness about the impact of mass incarceration on communities;

-Encouraging transparency and accountability in the prison system; and

-Collaborating with lawmakers to reform sentencing laws and practices. 

I’m proud to say that, today, these two thriving organizations---HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS and CITIZENS FOR PRISON REFORM---are working side-by-side to bring hope, support, and real help to justice‑impacted people and their families. 

I find it especially appropriate to honor Lois today. For one thing, this is Women’s History Month, an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Beyond that, today, March 8, 2026, is International Women’s Day…a global day recognizing women’s achievements! 

We salute Lois Pullano, hero to 33,000 incarcerated men and women and their families! 

Hear, hear! 

Little drops of water make the mighty ocean.” ― Julia Carney

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

No visits? No hope, no future!

  Joyce was on the line. I have no idea how Joyce got my telephone number, but the mother of two adult sons in prison was calling me from Detroit. A Black senior citizen on fixed income and battling cancer had heard of HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS. She asked me to check on one of her sons who, she felt, was becoming suicidal.   I readily agreed, but my next question was why didn’t she personally visit her son? Then came the tears. Months ago, when Joyce was getting checked in to visit one of her sons, the desk officer informed her that she had to go home. Prison visits were banned because a bench warrant had been issued due to unpaid traffic tickets. Being on a fixed income, it was traffic tickets or groceries for Joyce. She chose to keep on eating.   I’ll make this story very short. Assisted by several national agencies HFP, within days, raised money for her traffic tickets, personally delivered the money to her and the judge. She was finally able to see her boys...the fir...
Read more

Work among and with prisoners: Heartbreaking!

  It must surely be a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit that even a small number of those men and women in the hell of the prison system survive it and hold on to their humanity.” ― Howard Zinn   The stuff I’m reading from and about Michigan prisons this week is so unpleasant! It underscores the very reason why HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS was formed 24 years ago, and the reason why, today, HFP offers a cup of cool water, “action with compassion.”   St. Louis Correctional Facility   The Michigan Corrections Organization reveals that it has received alarming reports from St. Louis CF exposing hazardous and unsafe conditions. “SLF experienced a rash of violence in July 2025 which included 15 staff assaults, 25 prisoner assaults, and 69 prisoners sent to segregation for fighting. Additionally, 23 prisoners went to segregation for protection and 45 for refusing to lock in general population. The facility was put on lock down multiple times including after a...
Read more