Deadline Detroit reports that fewer Michigan prisoners were actually released in the pandemic's first year. As Covid-19 rages in Michigan’s prisons, delivering death sentences to more than 120 people who didn't earn them, the Michigan Department of Corrections has insisted it’s doing everything in its power to keep inmates safe. But that hasn’t included [...]
The Lansing State Journal reports that advocates are calling on Michigan to start prioritizing inmates for vaccination as COVID spreads through the state's prison system. The coronavirus has taken a staggering toll on Michigan prisons. More than 23,700 inmates have tested positive, Michigan Department of Corrections figures show, and 127 have died. The state's prison population [...]
The Detroit News posted an opinion piece penned by Jonathan Sacks that examines the COVID pandemic and Michigan's prisons as a humanitarian crisis. This is a humanitarian crisis. Every day at the State Appellate Defender Office, we hear of clients who have tested positive and even died. William Garrison died weeks before his parole. Richard Palombo died after he [...]
The Saginaw Correctional Facility is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak, with more than half of the inmates there testing positive reports mlive.com. Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz noted that 774 inmates at Saginaw Correctional Facility are currently testing positive with 300 prisoners previously positive but now medically cleared and considered [...]
ABC affiliate WZZM 13 reports that a coalition of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, are urging the governor's office and the state health department director to prioritize the vaccination of people who are incarcerated. Currently all state of Michigan prison facilities have had outbreaks of COVID-19 and 123 prisoners have [...]
ABC News reports that as Michigan begins receiving vaccines for COVID, the Michigan Department of Corrections has started the process of vaccinating its health care staff against COVID-19. However, inmates will have to wait. Michigan classifies prison inmates the same as the general population, so they will not be eligible for the vaccine until [...]
NPR explores why US prisons, often major COVID-19 hotspots, are not getting vaccine priority. The article notes: The 2.3 million people incarcerated in the U.S. are nearly five times as likely to test positive for the coronavirus as Americans generally and nearly three times as likely to die, after adjusting for age and sex. But [...]
Three Michigan inmates talked with MichiganRadio.org about what it is like to be in prison amid a pandemic. "Living through a pandemic is hard enough for most of us. But for people in prisons, where physical distancing is close to impossible, a pandemic causes an extra level of anxiety, fear, and vulnerability." Read more: [...]
The Detroit News reported that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a series of bills that would expand shields over young offender records, decrease the number of crimes punishable by suspension of a driver's license and reduce probation and parole in some cases. The legislation was based on research and collaboration from the bipartisan Michigan [...]
Michigan passed a grim milestone this week as more than 100 prisoners have died of COVID-19 inside prison. The Detroit Free Press reported on December 17, 2020 that, "As of Wednesday, 103 people incarcerated at the state's 29 prisons have died."
