NOTE: Readers are cautioned that the following letters involve themes of physical and sexual abuse.   How much time is enough for rehabilitation? I have been incarcerated for 10 years. When I came to prison I was a very angry woman, had no feelings for how I treated others. I trusted no one, I felt unloved and alone. I was 10 years old when I was first molested. When I was 12 or 13 years old, my brother-in-law molested me three to four times a week for a whole summer. I was married for 39 years, and was sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally abused and lived with an alcoholic. I h ..read more

Rethink felony murder Recently the U.S. Supreme Court and the Michigan Supreme Court have both acknowledged that life without parole sentences for juveniles who commit first-degree premeditated murder is unconstitutional, and cruel or unusual punishment. Yet, Michigan continues sentencing felony murder aider and abettors to mandatory life without parole where the defendants did not kill, participate in the killing, or have intent to kill. As a practical matter, felony murder where the defendant did not kill, participate, or have intent to kill is a fabricated offense, as the defendants are in ..read more

This year started with a lot of promise for criminal justice reform advocates in Michigan. For the first time in 40 years, Democrats secured a hold on the governor’s desk and both chambers of the state Capitol, leading many to hope that our legislation would get favorable committee hearings and votes on the House and Senate floors. So hopes were understandably high as Safe & Just Michigan backed bills that would end the practice of juvenile life without parole, establish productivity credits, overhaul the cash bail system and much more. Our friends at partner organizations such as Michigan ..read more

Thirteen years ago, Nealmetria Loper came to a reckoning in her life. After living in a Detroit neighborhood that was troubled by violence and poverty, she decided she wanted better for her own children — and other children living in the city. Loper — one of two Safe & Just Michigan Community Outreach Fellows— already knew cycles of crime and violence can affect children. Her family was affected by domestic violence when she was growing up, and when she was a young adult, her older brother was murdered. The loss left an absence in her family that she still feels, and she’s keenly awar ..read more

By her own account, Erica Cederberg said she had a charmed life — until suddenly she didn’t. She was the head of her family’s business, was married and had two girls she adored. But then, in a desperate attempt to keep her family business afloat, she misappropriated funds. The decision led to seven years in prison, the dissolution of her marriage and years without seeing or hearing from her children. During this time, her mother and her sister passed away and the family business folded. As losses stacked up, Erica began to see the world around her through newly opened eyes. Many of the people ..read more

Second Look leads to second chances My name is John Halcomb. I am 60 years old. I regret my violent behavior every day as I am reminded through the violence I see in my prison environment. This prison violence, however, began my rehabilitation when it caused me to empathically place myself in my victim’s place. I know that no amount of years can ever lessen the damage I have done, but if this Second Look policy succeeds, it may grant me a chance to contribute to my community by helping — if just one person — to not commit crime. After coming to prison, I remained the same self-centered person ..read more

The Michigan Legislature is considering a proposal to end juvenile life without parole in Michigan. Fully half the states and Washington, D.C., have already taken this step, banning the practice of sending children to prison to die, and another seven states currently have no one serving such a sentence. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional — an opinion echoed by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. However, Michigan courts still may apply these harsh sentences on a discretionary basis. Since the 2012 Supreme Co ..read more

We use the phrase “second chances” so often in criminal justice reform work that it can sometimes sound like a buzzword. We urge employers to adopt second-chance hiring to give people with a criminal record a chance at a job. The federal Second Chance Act provides grants to nonprofits and agencies that work to reduce recidivism. We encourage lawmakers to support our legislation in the name of second chances. But to me, a second chance is much more than a catch phrase. I fought for my second chance for nearly 16 years inside Michigan prisons that held me after I was wrongfully convicted for the ..read more

Think twice before demanding Bernstein resignation There’s no mistaking Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein’s Freudian Slip objection to newly appointed Justice Kyra Bolden’s hiring ex-felon Pete Martel as one of her law clerks as racism, bigotry, or discrimination. But calls for Bernstein’s resignation are unwarranted because his outburst isn’t reflective of the “blind justice” he has delivered in opinions he has written or concurred with regarding unemployment benefits, condemnation of property, judicial bias, juvenile lifers, and other cases too numerous to mention here. Althou ..read more

Inside Voices is an opportunity for our members who are incarcerated to voice their ideas and opinions to the outside world. Since they can’t access our monthly electronic newsletter, Safe & Just Michigan prints a newsletter several times a year that is mailed to our members who are in prison. We have invited those readers to send us their letters for publication in the next printed newsletter, and in addition, we are sharing them here. Also, we invite our members who are not incarcerated to send along questions to our incarcerated members that they could use as writing prompts. If you hav ..read more