Michigan leaders, advocate call for prison reform at Detroit town hall
(CBS DETROIT) — Supporters of the "Second Look" legislation hope that passing the bill could reduce the number of inmates in Michigan prisons and help solve the shortage of correctional policies across the state.
The Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration held a panel at St. Matthew's and St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in Detroit on Wednesday, with several guest speakers including state Sen. Stephanie Chang.
Second Look policies allow those who have been incarcerated for 10 years or more to have a sentencing judge review their record and possibly be placed before a parole board and considered for release. Members say that this could make Michigan prisons safer by allowing correctional officers across the state to be consolidated into fewer prisons.
"If we let out half of the people who are eligible currently for Second Look legislation," said former corrections officer Shana Fisher. "It would give us the potential to close five prisons."
"Look at what we're all doing," said Dakota Shananaquet, who was released 17 months ago from a nearly 11-year prison sentence for non-violent charges. "There are a lot of people who committed murder, and now they're giving back to the community."
Shananaquet said she received great mentorship from correctional officers she encountered during her sentence but saw a steady decline as the number of officers decreased. She said she is grateful she was able to earn several college degrees, with honors, which allowed her to mentor other incarcerated individuals. But she believes inmates today may not get the same reformation opportunities she had.
"We were mentors for the girls coming into the prison system, especially the ones who were teenagers," said Shananaquet. "But the officers can't train people for that kind of work like they used to."
Shananaquet hopes that the Second Look legislation and upcoming election will bring about the change organizers of Wednesday's event hope to see.
"Do your research on the judges who are running this term to see if they support The Second Look bill," Shananaquet told CBS Detroit.
St. Joseph's and St. Andrew's Episcopal will hold another strategizing meeting on October 21 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.