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Michigan Budget Calls for "Bolder Prison Changes"
  1. Signatures
    109 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. The Governor of MI (+ 2 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The Governor of MI
      • The MI State Senate
      • The MI State House
  2. Created By
    Tabitha Metreger
    Pinckney, MI
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world! This is largely due to the fact that we lock people up for crimes--such as using drugs and writing bad checks--that rarely lead to prison terms in other countries. Our prison sentences are also much longer than in other nations. So when it comes to making difficult decisions over cuts to state budgets, corrections is the most logical place to start.

On 2/19/11, the Detroit Free Press published an editorial suggesting Michigan Governor Rick Snyder implement changes to the Department of Corrections that would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year and lower our incarceration rate (one of the highest in the country) to match those of nearby states. These changes include:

*Restoring "good time" credits

*Divert more non-violent offenders into lower-cost programs such as drug courts, electronic tethers, and community service

*Repeal juvenile life without parole sentences

*Release some of the 8,000 inmates who have served their minimum sentence

Please call on Governor Snyder and the Michigan state legislators to save millions in taxpayer dollars by enacting these common sense changes!

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Reduce our Bloated Prison Population and Save Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Annually!

Greetings,

On 2/19/11, the Detroit Free Press published an editorial suggesting Governor Rick Snyder implement changes to the Department of Corrections that would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per year and lower our incarceration rate (one of the highest in the country) to match those of nearby states. These changes include:

*Restoring "good time" credits

*Diverting more non-violent offenders into lower-cost programs such as drug courts, electronic tethers, and community service

*Repealing juvenile life without parole sentences

*Releasing some of the 8,000 inmates who have served their minimum sentence

It is time to own up to the fact that "tough on crime" politics has led to a bloated prison population, far surpassing that of any other industrialized nation. We, the undersigned, urge you to save Michigan taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually by enacting these common sense changes.

[Your name]

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