This article is written by Jan Austin, a guest writer for www.SarcasticCrime.com, and who’s article is also being syndicated in several Michigan Newspapers today. We here at www.SarcasticCrime.com thank Jan from the bottom of our hearts for permitting use of this article for our readers to appreciate. Please enjoy and comment accordingly.
Smarter Sentencing Will
Increase Public Safety
The recent horrific outcomes associated with Lansing’s Matthew Macon and the Scott Selepack case of 2006 prove the desperate need for passing the “Good Time” bill (hb4262) and the bill revamping the Michigan Parole Board (hb4263). Contrary to popular belief, the “Good Time” bill is not about releasing prisoners early. It is a tool that is required to achieve rehabilitation. Overcrowding within the Department of Corrections is at record levels and has grown beyond a financial issue. Under the “Truth in Sentencing” rules currently in force, an inmate is serving the entire sentence but has no incentive to become involved in their personal rehabilitation.
Recidivism rates in
There is a misconception that “Good Time” is nothing more than a reduction in sentence. In fact, the time reduction can only be achieved as a direct result of good behavior. Rehabilitation programs create good behavior. This yields a remarkable obvious dual benefit of improved behavior at release and an enormous reduction in spending.
A person lives a felonious lifestyle due to a lack of proper decision making skills and psychological issues stemming from unsatisfactory adolescent environments. According to the United States Department of Justice, recidivism studies reveal that, “The amount of time inmates serve in prison does not increase or decrease the likelihood of recidivism.” (2) Clearly, incarceration without rehabilitation is failure by design.
Most forward-thinking professionals now believe that the offer of sentence reduction or “Good Time” draws the incarcerated into an improved pattern of thought as they must make daily choices about their futures. Simply put, compliance with rules and regulations yields benefits. Infractions eliminate “Good Time” to the point where an individual may lose all accumulated “Good Time” for one major misconduct incident, even nearing the end of the sentence. The only way to achieve a substantial reduction in time served is by making positive choices on a daily basis. Years of incentivized decision making creates skills that enable positive social integration at release. There are currently no significant incentives within the Michigan Department of Corrections to rehabilitate thinking patterns. Additionally, during incarceration, positive peer pressure directed towards non-conforming inmates evolves as most are unwilling to jeopardize banked “Good Time” by association with those who refuse to comply. As a result, behavior is easily quantified enabling the Parole Board to judge whether or not the individual actively participated in their own rehabilitation. It stands to reason the recidivism rates would improve, prison population would be markedly lower and individuals like Macon and Selepack could not fall through the cracks as easily. “Truth in Sentencing” legislation, which eliminated “Good Time”, has caused a quagmire within the MDOC just as it did in
When are we, the citizens of
It is important to recognize that this bill only permits “Good Time” for non-habitual offenders, which will also reduce the incidences of repetition. Estimates of savings to
Please contact your state senator and representative now and encourage them to vote for the passage of hb4262 and hb4263 as they are currently pending. Both bills can be read in their entirety at www.legislature.mi.gov. Additional information can be obtained at www.prisontalk.com.
(1)
(2) “An Analysis of Non-violent Drug Offenders with Minimal Criminal Histories,
Sincerely,
Janice Austin
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Thank you. I used the information from this article to write to my congressman, urging him to support 4262 and 4263.