Prison reform in Michigan
July 25, 2007
They say necessity is the mother of ingenuity. No where is this more true than in Michigan. The budget situation in Michigan is in shambles as critical services and revenue sharing programs are being downsized. What’s more troubling of course is the insane amount of money that is spent on incarceration to the tune of $2 billion dollars a year. To help fix this broken system, Governor Jennifer Granholm proposed legislation that would include among other things, “changing the possession of some amounts of some drugs from felonies to misdemeanors.” Overall, the goal of the proposed reforms is to “reduce sentences for dozens of crimes to save money by sending fewer criminals to prison or county jails.” This is certainly a step in the right direction in breaking the destructive influence of the prison-industrial complex. No society should spend more money on prison than they should on education. I am giving a hat tip to Governor Granholm, and I know there will be much resistance in the Republican-controlled State Senate but this must be overcome.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
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