Over-crowded. Understaffed. There is no way to provide humane conditions at Women's Huron Valley w/o reducing the prison population. Time for Whitmer to start reviewing who could be commuted and the parole board to review eligibility for medical parole https://l.mlive.com/o3493x

Ease prison overcrowding through clemency, commutation, medical parole, and other existing legal means. today: bit.ly/mitimetoact

What happens when storytelling becomes a tool for advocacy? Join MI-CEMI on June 24 for Documentary Storytelling: Using Film to Advance Advocacy & Narrative Change. on June 24 at 1:00 PM - Reserve your spot: bit.ly/narrativechange26

What would happen if every incarcerated person had access to the tools they need to succeed? Register today: bit.ly/june18pppt

Remember, all the evidence shows that sex offender registries either have no impact on public safety or make safety worse by making it harder for people to get jobs, housing. https://pro.stateaffairs.com/mi/courts/betts-ruling-applies-retroactively

"these kids are still kids at the end of the day, and that they've gone through a lot," Martin said. "They might have done something that's landed them in juvenile detention, but they're still learning and growing, with emotions and feelings, just like us."

“We need to take action,” Wortz said. “The people of this state deserve to know with confidence that correctional facilities are operating safely, lawfully, and with full transparency. Anything less would be a betrayal of our duty as lawmakers”  From Mlive

"women were told they would be sent to solitary confinement if they didn't perform the apparently urgent work until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Thursday and Friday, inmates … told the Detroit Free Press" Cleaning: good Forced Prison Labor: Bad

“Nobody has taken a really close look at sentencing in Michigan for nearly 30 years,” Yates said. “The purpose of the revitalized sentencing commission is to do the research that’s been lacking for the last three decades about how sentencing is working in Michigan.”

Way to go LaWanda. May Melvin's legacy continue and your leadership help We The People Opportunity Farm's impact grow! https://concentratemedia.com/ypsis-we-the-people-opportunity-farm-will-continue-founder-melvin-parsons-mission-after-his-sudden-passing/

“Community violence intervention is most effective when it is led by the people closest to the work,” said Dujuan Zoe Kennedy, executive director of FORCE Detroit. https://michiganchronicle.com/force-detroit-invests-235000-in-grassroots-violence-intervention-work-across-the-city/

"Khaira spoke not only about her own health concerns, but also about broader concerns impacting other incarcerated women, concerns over mold exposure, ventilation issues, food quality, sanitation, delays in medical care and working conditions inside the facility," Walker said.

"Crime victims, in survey after survey, favor rehabilitation over punishment, roughly two to one. And now officers are saying something similar." https://wdet.org/2026/05/12/the-metro-why-those-closest-to-crimes-are-some-of-the-biggest-advocates-for-rehabilitation/

Save the date for our next MI-CEMI Communications Roundtable, where we’ll discuss documentary filmmaking and its role in advocacy, storytelling, and narrative change. Thursday, June 18 | 12:00–1:30 PM ET Register here: bit.ly/film2026

Join us next Thursday May 21st, register at bit.ly/mi-budget

"survivor justice laws… create a clear legal pathway for courts to reassess sentences with the full context of abuse. This kind of survivor-centered sentence review does not guarantee release. It ensures something more basic: that justice is based on the full truth."

Mass incarceration has failed to stop gun violence. How can we prevent losing more lives to death in prison? Join us on May 16 to hear from candidates running for governor in Michigan about their vision for keeping Michigan safe. Register: endgunviolencemi.org

“What has come to light is not a single mistake,” Peter Dee “It is a documented pattern of misconduct that courts have already recognized, including coercing false confessions and abuse of witnesses." https://www.theroot.com/she-was-a-star-detroit-cop-nicknamed-the-closer-now-2000102593

We need better ways to support people in mental health crises, not what this father went through: “They came in the house and made him a felon,” he said.  https://bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/they-sought-help-for-son-with-mental-illness-he-ended-up-in-jail/

Want to make your voice heard? Legislative Coffee Hours are a chance to meet directly with lawmakers in your community and talk about the issues that matter most. Bring your questions. Share your story.

“While we can never erase the harm done by a wrongful conviction, the WICA amendment is a step towards providing exonerees with some much needed assistance as they rebuild their lives after spending years – and even decades – unjustly incarcerated,” Webber said.

“We’re glad to see that those stricter policies are having the intended impact, where police are using facial recognition much, much less, and in the rare and special circumstances that the policies allow,” Wadood said.

“We opposed the reopening of North Lake precisely because we feared that what is now happening would happen,” Khogali continued. “North Lake’s conditions and practices fall dangerously short of both constitutional mandates and federal standards.”

This article avoids the common trap of treating the staffing problem as just a Michigan thing. It's a national problem, and the only way we will solve it is through finding ways to bring home the people who don't need to be there.

"The ACLU of Michigan has warned that this pervasive surveillance creates a chilling effect, particularly in minority communities, where the feeling of being watched can dissuade individuals from exercising their rights and participating freely in society."

The good people at AFSC are hiring an associate program director https://recruiting.ultipro.com/AME1068/JobBoard/34b788f5-e07e-3fb3-8e73-08c36602a07b/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=ee807a30-e21e-4c5d-8da4-f7667dbbc3fc Posting open through April 24

"sentences can be much harsher than what is needed to protect the public. I have come to believe that a system that cannot reassess its own decisions risks losing sight of its purpose: to hold people accountable, to protect the public and to ensure that punishment remains fair and proportionate"

Clean Slate was a bipartisan win for public safety, second chances, economic opportunity. Let's bring back some of that bipartisan energy to solve the problems Michiganders face! https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/nearly-1-6m-criminal-records-cleared-under-michigan-clean-slate-law/

Women at Huron Valley are calling for clemency. It’s time to act. Read more: https://michigancollaborative.org/news/

"Border Patrol is weaponizing local law enforcement and traffic stops to impose an aggressive anti-immigration agenda on the American people. They are effectively serving as a domestic surveillance organization." https://michiganvoices.substack.com/p/the-surveillance-state-in-action

This was not on my bingo card https://www.mlive.com/politics/2026/03/paris-hilton-speaks-before-michigan-house-panel-against-use-of-youth-transport-restraints.html

"More than 65% of incarcerated individuals are facing sentences of 10 years or longer, leading to prison population growth that does not match crime rates that remain stable, according to a new report." https://pro.stateaffairs.com/mi/justice-civil-rights/long-sentences-rising-costs

"If Retailers Can Text You, Why Can’t Courts?" Great question for Right On Crime  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUGLrunI3MU

When my teenager told me about "rage bait," I realized I needed to level up my game when it comes to thinking about when and how to respond to outrageous content online. "Don't feed the trolls" isn't enough. Two justice-impacted experienced communicators will help us sort it out.

If you've been paying attention, you know this work can get messy, and sometimes that mess goes public. Do we respond directly, or lay low & hope it blows over? IDK, but Josh Hoe from dream.org and Charles Pugh from Nation Outside will hep us sort it out!

Every time a politician drops a dumb bill for harsher punishment, I wonder if we should call it out publicly, or if that's exactly the kind of attention the politician wanted. That's why I'm so excited to hear from Josh Hoe & Charles Pugh on when & how to respond.

Six months later and still pending medical examiner review? Makes me wonder who dropped the ball… and why. Link in comments:

The corrections officers union complains about forced overtime/understaffing, then pushes for policies that require more staffing. How about this instead: do a review of everyone who has been down 20 years and is over age 50. Most are safe to come home.

"What makes this effort different, Hollister said, is that women inside the facility are speaking up themselves." https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q95LmEUwqXRcccghm13e5BGXeMgO_GGCUZkjj0F2XoU/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Real talk: with all the scandals out there, I worry how to respond if one of them hits one of our movement leaders. We need to be ready. This webinar will help. Link in comments.

Bad ROI for Shotspotter Ramis Wadood, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, who said the data he had seen from SoundThinking Inc. was “not only embarrassingly low for such an expensive technology but also don’t actually point to real outcomes in criminal investigations.” Link in comments

Hakim Crampton from Citizens for Prison Reform nails it: excessive prison sentences = more overcrowding = more problems. MI needs to break its addiction to extreme prison sentences https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/longer-sentences-push-michigan-prisons-closer-to-capacity

"Over a six-month investigation, CBS found more than a dozen cases when [license plate readers] … led to wrongful stops, along with cases when the technology was abused. https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/06/unregulated-license-plate-readers-are-tracking-michigan-drivers-heres-whats-at-stake/

Why are in-person visits important? “In-person visitation, that’s about the only way that young children can communicate,” Proch said. https://prismreports.org/2026/03/05/jails-visits-families/

Mackinac Center shows that smart criminal justice policy isn't right or left, it's common sense "Inmates should be able to reduce their time in prison by participating in and completing programs shown to reduce recidivism." https://www.mackinac.org/34179

1,500 words, 3 pages in the MDOC report on contraband in prisons. What's not there? Any acknowledgement of the role of staff & contractors in bringing contraband into facilities.

Survivor justice policies are desperately needed in MI, around US. And we need to get the details right so they benefit the people who need them. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/magazine/oklahoma-domestic-violence-survivors-act.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QVA.-heM.f6iNQO7hsMuv&smid=url-share

When Rick Speck speaks it's worth listening! https://wdet.org/2026/02/26/the-metro-michigan-gives-parolees-ids-what-more-can-be-done-to-offer-residents-a-second-chance/

MI-CEMI is proud to co-sponsor the Day of Empathy this coming Saturday. In a time of polarization, callousness, & dehumanization, empathy is needed now more than ever.

Music was part of Demetric's personal development. Now he's using the transformative power of music to both uplift people in prison and help prevent youth from ending up there. And he's trailblazing innovative tactics to provide programming in prison.