Michigan Prisoners Mourn Recent Tragedy at Michigan State University

 I want to express my grief over and sympathy towards those who were affected by the recent shooting at Michigan State University. I am a long time University of Michigan fan, but when tragedies like this occur, it doesn't matter where your fan loyalties lie. We're all human. 

Some might be surprised to hear that many prisoners were troubled by the shooting at MSU. Just because we're prisoners who broke the law does not mean that we don't have empathy for victims of crime. We do, especially when it hits close to home. 

No matter where one is housed in Michigan, most Michigan prisoners are usually U of M or MSU fans (some unfortunate few are Buckeye fans!). We might have family ties to either university, had interactions with them, or simply chose a team and have stuck to it. Both U of M and MSU have a long history of involvement with Michigan prisoners. 

Michigan State University has been involved in conducting poetry writing classes, poetry slam contests, training prisoners for job interviews, and much more. At one prison, we even had an MSU professor coming in regularly with a few students to teach yoga classes. Covid shut that down, but I still have fond memories of Mr. G. and his huge heart for prisoners. 

I was also fortunate enough to be the first Michigan prisoner that MSU's tax clinic helped with some IRS issues. They were wonderful to work with, and they proved to have huge hearts too. 

The University of Michigan also conducts an annual Prisoner Creative Arts project. Prisoners are invited to submit art work or creative writing which is then auctioned off by the University. Prisoners choose where the money they earn goes. Many prisoners donate it to worthy causes.

Other colleges and universities around the country have prison projects that aim to make a difference in the lives of prisoners. For example, I have submitted several stories to Cornell University's project, PrisonerExpress.com. 

Even if these universities were not involved in prison projects, if the staff and students didn't have huge hearts for those of us who don't deserve their care and concern, what happened at MSU still hits home. Nobody, but especially our children, deserves to live in fear of their safety. College is supposed to be centered on growth and learning. It ought not to be a place of pain and terror. 

I don't know what caused this man to shoot students at MSU. I hope he's able to get help for whatever mental illness he might be struggling with (as reported). But families are still left devastated. Students are still terrified to return to classes. It's tragic, and I'm deeply saddened by it. I'm sad for people I know from MSU, for people I don't know there, and for those who are shaken up because they have loved ones at MSU. 

From this University of Michigan fan, and reflecting the hearts of many Michigan prisoners, Spartans, we're praying for you!

New Michigan Prisoner Shocked by Incompetence, Cruelty, and Corruption

 

Recently, another prisoner who is what we call a short-timer said to me that he was blown away by how corrupt the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is. This prisoner is nearly fifty years old, has never been to prison before, and believed in the criminal justice system prior to his incarceration for a somewhat minor offense. But since coming to prison, he has totally lost faith in the system.  This prisoner was a well-respected person in his community and has deep attachments to academia. Like most people, he was conditioned to believe that the prison system is fair, just, and operating with integrity. Instead, he found rampant apathy, mismanaged money, cruel corrections officers, a culture of protecting corruption, and a totally broken system.  Many people may discount his views because he is now a prisoner, but that's the rub. Why must someone actually be a prisoner in order to see the problems, especially when prisoners' viewpoints aren't trusted? The MDOC has very little oversight, almost no accountability, and those in Lansing and the courts give wide latitude to prison officials, even in the face of glaringly obvious evidence against them. Prisoners' reports and complaints are discounted out of hand, and MDOC misconduct is excused and justified.  We prisoners are in prison because we broke the law and the court system held us accountable. Most of us deserve to be punished for our crimes, though some don't deserve prison, and others are simply innocent of their charges. But when the system that punishes us also routinely breaks its own rules, and approves of such conduct, how are we prisoners to learn the value of living according to rules? When the law only applies to those of us already being punished, and not to the punishers, how is that justice?  Some people may chalk up my (and other prisoners') complaints to bitterness about our incarceration. I probably would too from the other side of the fence. But now that I've experienced the level of incompetence, corruption, and injustice found in the MDOC, to be silent would be injustice too.  I deeply regret the injustice of my past. I know I caused harm, that I am 100% responsible for that harm. For the last fourteen years I've worked on my flaws, cultivating empathy for those I harmed and for others. It's only natural, then, for me to also recognize and speak out against injustice perpetrated by the very system that claims to carry out justice.  Yet when I speak out, I've been silenced by the system that seeks to protect its injustice. It has unchecked power to do just that.  I do have a sliver of hope that things will change (though a very small sliver) because some police officers are finally being held accountable for their injustices. Whether or not that movement will carry over to the less visible corrections systems is yet to be seen. The public still tends to believe that once convicted, people give up their rights to justice.  Every day that goes by leaves me feeling less and less hopeful that the corrections system can be...well, corrected. We'll see.

Lack of Clearly Defined Purpose Leads to Negative Prison Outcomes

 If you were to ask one hundred Americans what they thought the primary goal of prison was, you would likely receive numerous answers. These would include deterrence, punishment, incapacitation, and rehabilitation or reform. Even legislators don't have consistent beliefs in the primary goal of prison. 

The reality is that the use of prison aims to accomplish multiple goals, but goals which are often competing with each other. Because of this competition for outcomes, prisons are notoriously inept at accomplishing anything but warehousing. In other words, incapacitation becomes the default goal. 

Since the general public, elected officials, and even prison administrators cannot figure out which outcomes are most important, there is very little attention given to the notoriously negative effects of the total institution of incarceration. These negative outcomes are numerous, but include depersonalization, dependency, and loss of initiative.*

Prisons notoriously depersonalize people. When sentenced to prison, people are given a number to identify them, and thereafter, prisoners are known primarily by this number. Prisons also strip people of their identities, give them the same clothes to wear, and treat them the same, regardless of the severity of their crimes. Prisoners serving a short eighteen month sentence for drunk driving are treated the same as prisoners serving longer sentences for violent crimes. 

This loss of identity often results in prisoners losing their sense of self, their sense of belonging and attachment to others, and their belief that they have something unique (and positive) to bring to the world. Prisoners even buy into the system's aim of depersonalization by refusing to let others use their "government name." Nicknames are prolific as prisoners themselves detach from their former lives. 

Prison also teaches gross dependency. Prisons provide many basic necessities, including a place to sleep, three meals a day (despite their horrible quality), and a pre-determined daily routine. Prisoners do not have to wash their own clothes, prepare their own meals, pay monthly bills, work normal jobs, mow their lawns, repair their cars, or any of the other hundreds of things required of citizens. 

Prisoners are often even forced to depend on family and friends to help them with basic expenses as prison jobs barely pay enough for a single visit to medical. Moreover, many prisoners actively plan to continue depending on the government to meet their needs after prison, fully surrendering to the learned helplessness they've been taught in prison. 

Related to their learned helplessness, many prisoners lose initiative while in prison. Any initiative they show is ardently opposed by prison officials who treat anything abnormal with suspicion. And initiative is abnormal in prison. Even other prisoners treat those who show initiative with suspicion, often calling them rats or "police" for demonstrating anything but profound laziness. 

Long-term enculturation in a system that opposes initiative leads many prisoners to adopt laissez-faire attitudes towards anything that will better their condition or prepare them for success after prison. Official opposition towards any attempts prisoners do make to better themselves or their condition often lead to discouragement and eventually to loss of initiative in general. 

With no clear goal for incarceration, it's no wonder these negative effects exist. Both prison officials and prisoners alike have no reason to overcome them. 

(* These points adapted from "The Failure of Reform" by Edgardo Rotman, in The Oxford History of The Prison)

Police Reform or Prison Reform: Real Reform Starts in the Heart

After yet another widely publicized case of murder by cops, this time Tyre Nichols of Memphis, Tennessee, we hear renewed calls for police reform. Clearly, something needs to change because police brutality is still a problem. 

Public tragedies, like Tyre's brutal beating, prompt calls for change because people feel appalled and powerless. Police officers should be trusted, not invoke terror. Most Americans genuinely believe there is a need for law enforcement, but they feel conflicted when things like this murder occur. 

But what exactly is police reform? Several years ago, to some it meant defunding the police. Not many people now believe that is a viable solution. So what has to change? What must be reformed? Was it really bad training that made these cops kill Tyre? Certainly not. No amount of change in training would stop the complete abuse of power we saw. 

Must we change our hiring practices? Police departments around the country are already short staffed because they can't find competent help. So what exactly, I ask again, must change? What will stop these cases of police murder and brutality from occurring? 

Prison reform is another phrase that sounds good but has murky definitions. I think the public generally supports prison reform, but they don't really even know what that means. Does it mean reductions in sentences? More rehabilitative programming? New prison designs or improvements in existing structures? 

Some political talking heads and media outlets are clouding the subject further by connecting the prison reform movement (and criminal justice reform) with rising crime rates. But they aren't connected. It's just a convenient political slight of hand. Crime rates are rising for several reasons completely unconnected to current criminal justice policies. 

Prison reform, like police reform, offers well-meant solutions, but they aren't always well thought out. Will prison reforms reduce crime? Maybe not, but neither are they likely to increase it. If reforms mean some prisoners are released early, will some of those prisoners commit more crimes? Probably. But does that mean reforms shouldn't happen? Of course not. They should because our current system is excessively retributive and uses very little science toward its desired outcomes. 

Just as prison reforms will likely not reduce crime, police reforms are not going to stop police abuse. Both will require reforming character and holding those in power accountable for abuse. Reforms can be either top down or bottom up, but it takes intentional, character-driven change in people first. Policies are only as good as those who enforce or follow them. 

Tyre Nichols' murder would not have been stopped by new policy. The law is already quite clear. Still, we do need reforms, but those reforms must start in the heart of people or nothing will really change.