Before Incarceration

Crime Prevention & Smart Alternatives to Incarceration

 

We work to support community policing and local crime prevention initiatives, including support for education and restorative justice in schools.

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We are also committed to expanding Diversion Programs & Alternatives to Incarceration through the creation and expansion of mental health courts and related treatment programs, and the expansion of diversion programs for first-time and youthful offenders.

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Key initiatives underway are:

• Raising the age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction to 18.

• Eliminating the Cash Bail System. 

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During Incarceration

Reform Sentence Length & Prisoner Treatment

 

Justice Voters supports Sentencing Guidelines Reform, including re-establishing the Sentencing Commission, amending the sentencing guidelines to account for mitigating facts, re-examining sentencing grids based on sentencing outcomes (including consideing reducing recommended penalties), and encouraging the use of judicial discretion to depart from recommended guideline ranges.

 

We are also working on Statutory Reforms that will fight over-criminalization/proliferation of criminal laws, reduce statutory penalties for certain crimes, and eliminate felony treatment of certain common misdemeanors based on prior offenses.

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With the goal of providing more effective rehabilitation, Justice Voters is working to expand mental health screenings, treatment, and mental health care for prisoners. This includes addressing mental health conditions caused by incarceration—such as PTSD, institutionalized personality and antisocial personality traits, and reactive substance abuse. Justice Voters also supports efforts to address root causes of these mental health conditions in prisons, including reducing the use of solitary confinement.

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We also support expanding vocational & life skills training in prisons to prepare returning citizens for release.

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After Incarceration

Parole Reform and Reentry Support

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Justice Voters supports legislation to reduce parole denial rates for low-risk individuals by increasing the parole board's accountability and its adherence to existing statutory directives about parole.

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Justice Voters is also seeking to restore and increase support for/access to the MDOC’s Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative with a goal of making comprehensive pre- and post-release support available to all returning citizens.

 

Key initiatives underway include:​​

• Creating incentives for employers to hire formerly incarcerated persons.

• "Clean slate" legislation to expunge old crimes from formerly incarcerated persons' criminal records to facilitate success in obtaining employment and housing.