Commuting Sentences Makes Sense for Some Elderly Prisoners

 (This is a guest post by lifer and fellow prisoner, John Halcomb)

Hey Michigan Citizens!

Let's go on a "Did you know?" journey to understand who is responsible for where your taxes go, and for ensuring public safety against elderly prisoners who have been incarcerated for more than 30 or 40 years. These prisoners have been punished for decades and are no longer a risk to your safety. 

We all know that prisons play a societal role in increasing public safety for law abiding citizens (that's you!) from other citizens who broke the law (that's me, among others). But, did you know that the phrase "Public Safety" is still used to justify the endless incarceration of elderly, and often debilitated prisoners, who broke the law more than 30 years ago (yes, that's three or more decades!), and are still incarcerated?

Did you know that the Corrections budget for 2021-2022 is $2.2 billion? It costs $36k on average each year to house level 2 (medium security) prisoners in the Michigan Department of Corrections. Michigan's prison population is nearly 34,000 prisoners and almost 4,000 of these prisoners are serving a life sentence without parole eligibility (LWOP). This means that either Governor Whitmer must be persuaded to grant mercy through commuting sentences for older prisoners, or legislators must be persuaded to legally amend the State statute for a reduction of punishment for these elderly prisoners who have paid their debts to society through long-term punishment. 

Did you know that in the name of public safety, according to MDOC Information Officer Chris Gautz, Michigan has the country's oldest prison population? That means, every time our Governor declines to commute a prisoner's request for a second chance at freedom, who has served more than 30 years of punishment and is no longer a public safety risk, taxpayers (that's you) must pay roughly $200,000, plus medical costs (which increase dramatically for aged prisoners), to continue incarceration for another five years.

Did you know that continuing to incarcerate people sentenced to 20 or more years in prison costs taxpayers (that's you) about $456 million annually? Even in cases where a prisoner demonstrates rehabilitation through qualities like taking responsibility for their wrongful deeds, earning a college degree, having available employment, or having support from family or forgiveness from a victim or victim's family, they remain incarcerated indefinitely. This means that Michigan is simply warehousing these aging prisoners in contrast to their own departmental data that shows long-term serving prisoners have only a 0.1% recidivism (re-offense) rate, compared to the 38% recidivism rate of prisoners with lesser crimes. Yet, taxpayers (that's you) are left bearing the financial burden of paying to keep elderly prisoners that are long past being a threat to the public, simply because our Governor doesn't want to be labeled as "soft on crime" by granting commutations that would ease the tax burden of our citizenry. 

Did you know that a prisoner who has served more than 30 years of punishment and has exceeded the age of 50 years old is a good candidate for Governor Whitmer's commuting powers? This is because the MDOC statistics show that elderly prisoners age out of crime, the prison environment has done its job of deterring future re-offending, and rehabilitation is achieved. Moreover, elderly prisoners desire what free citizens (that's you) have: to have a family, to contribute in some meaningful way to society to make up for their wrongs, and to live in a safe community.

Did you know that former Governor Rick Snyder commuted 26 sentences, 12 of which were being served for first degree murder? Similarly, former Governor Jennifer Granholm commuted 168 lifer sentences, 44 of whom had been convicted of murder, and none have violently re-offended or become a risk to public safety. Governor Granholm once said, "We have to distinguish between who we are angry with, and who we are afraid of." Governor Granholm, a former prosecutor, showed amazing insight by recognizing citizens can be angry at law-breakers, but they do not have to be afraid of those elderly prisoners who have been punished long enough and are safe to release back into Michigan's communities. 

Did you know that you can make a difference in Michigan's political arena? If you believe a change is needed in how our state continues to inflict punishment on elderly prisoners, then contact Governor Whitmer's office and ask her to commute more elderly lifers' sentences. Or, contact your local State representative to urge establishing a criteria for amending the mandatory lifer law and reducing sentences for prisoners who have served more than 30 years and are over 50 years old. In this way, the societal role of prisons has satisfied its objective to protect society, punish the guilty, and most importantly, rehabilitate the offender. 

Governor Whitmer's office: (517) 373-3400
www.house.michigan.gov
www.senate.michigan.gov
www.legislature.mi.gov