Prisons to Close; Prisoners to Be Released

Governor Jennifer Granholm is closing one Jackson, Michigan prison and part of another. By July of this year, 500 prison employees will be transferred or laid off, and the prison population will be reduced by 1,800 beds.

The closure is the first of five in Michigan. Governor Jennifer Granholm has proposed a $122 million budget cut in the state's corrections department.

Michigan's incarceration rate is 40% higher than surrounding states. Governor Granholm hopes to cut that number by releasing close to 5,500 non-violent convicts, including car thieves and drug offenders.

The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility, which houses nearly 1,500 prisoners at a cost of $30,000 per year, according to the Jackson Citizen Patriot, will be shut down. One cell block of the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center will also be closed.

Often referred to as "Prison City," Jackson has had its share of attention. Violent riots were reported by the national media in 1952 and 1981. In 1985, two inmates walked off a prison farm and murdered a couple in their home.

On February 11 of this year, 60 Minutes featured a story on Timothy Souders. Mr. Souders, who had previously been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, was imprisoned in the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility on charges of theft and assault. During his incarceration, he attempted suicide, broke a stool, and flooded his cell. After the flooding, guards restrained him to his bed for up to seventeen hours at a time for several days until he died of thirst.

Despite all the problems, many Jackson residents are upset about the closure. The Michigan Corrections Department is the second largest employer in the area. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in Jackson was at 7.3% as of December 2006. This statistic follows the closure of TRW Automotive, which laid off 400 employees in July 2006. This year, two other Jackson area employers have announced closures that will result in job loss for at least 350 more people.

Many Jackson residents also fear the release of prisoners into their community. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department expects crime rates to rise. Sheriff Dan Heyns is quoted in the Jackson Citizen Patriot as saying, "Our experience has been that these people are one bad decision away from being a violent criminal."

Elton Scott, a retired warden for Jackson's G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility, told the Citizen Patriot that many of the prisoners are in incarcerated for crimes such as marijuana use and are not dangerous. "They criminalize a lot of stuff that I don't think should be criminalized," he said. "It just loaded the prisons with people who are not really doing dangerous stuff ... to anybody but themselves."

Currently, the Jackson police arrest an average of one parole violator per day.

SOURCES

"The Death of Timothy Souders," CBS News, 60 Minutes, February 11, 2007

"Jackson Prison Closing to Help Balance Budget," Detroit Free Press, February 20, 2007

"Parole Plans Spark Fear," Jackson Citizen Patriot, February 23, 2007

"Jackson Prisons have Turbulent History," Jackson Citizen Patriot, February 25, 2007