DETROIT – State Representative George Cushingberry Jr. (D-Detroit) today urged Detroit residents to attend a House Judiciary Committee special hearing to discuss his plan that will reduce prison populations and save the state millions of dollars.
"As important as prisons are to ensure a safe society, the cost of operating Michigan's correctional facilities is almost beyond sustainability," said Cushingberry. "The correction system is meant to be a place of rehabilitation, but it has turned into a very expensive holding pen. The main objective of this bill is to prepare one-time criminals for a productive life in society."
The House Judiciary Committee will be holding a special hearing from on Friday, June 19, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Detroit Chamber of Commerce, located at 1 Woodward Ave. to discuss the plan.
The plan, which Cushingberry introduced, will require that all major misconducts that a prisoner is found guilty of while in state correctional facilities be maintained and given to the parole board. A prisoner who has not been found guilty of a major misconduct will receive the following sentence reductions:
- During the 1st and 2nd years of a sentence, 5 days each month.
- During the third and fourth years, 6 days each month.
- During the fifth and sixth years, 7 days each month.
- During the seventh, eighth and nine years, 9 days for each month.
- During the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth years, 10 days each month.
- During the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth years, 12 days each month.
- For the twentieth year and up to a prisoner's release date, 15 days each month.
"We are not just locking up animals, these people are our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, mothers and fathers," Cushingberry said. "Everyone has made mistakes in their life, and prisoners are paying for those mistakes. It is our hope that good behavior on the inside translates to good behavior on the outside. In order to make Michigan a safer state, we need to focus on not only rehabilitating our prisoners, but ensuring that they aren't coming back to prison after finishing their sentence. "