Citizens Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending
       

Serving life in Michigan:
information for advocates

Plaintiffs' brief for summary judgment in Kenneth Foster-Bey, et al. v John S. Rubitschun, et al. This class action suit on behalf of parole-eligible lifers claims the "life means life" policy violates the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution.  Click here.

Judge's plea can't win killer's release from prison
By Scott Hagen, The Jackson Citizens Patriot, Nov. 5, 2006

The meaning of life:
Restoring fairness to Michigan's
parole system

A video presentation on the plight
of parolable lifers.  Click on your preferred format below:

Windows Media (Internet Explorer users only)
Real Player
Quick Time

Note: Those with dial-up modems may not be able to view this presentation.

More about the video and how to order it

See more details on the issues involved

When 'life' did not mean life: A Historical Analysis of Life Sentences Imposed in Michigan Since 1900

Lifer Law is Misused (article by CAPPS Executive Director Barbara R. Levine as a member of the Prisons and Corrections Section of the State Bar of Michigan)

WWW.secondchancelegislation.org
A website devoted to modifying Michigan laws to prevent minors (17 and younger) from being sent to prison for the rest of their lives.  Included on the site is the report prepared by Ann Arbor attorney Deborah LaBelle called Second Chances and profiles of people sentenced as minors to natural life in jail without parole.

 No way out: Michigan's parole board redefines the meaning of 'life'
A 72-page report by CAPPS on the origins and application of Michigan's Lifer Law; includes profiles of 20 lifers and recommendations for changing the parole review process.

Suit: Prisoners denied parole
Some serving life terms didn't get fair chance, U-M students and professors say. (Detroit News, April 10, 2005)

What Should "Parolable Life" Mean? 
 Judges Respond to the Controversy
(Report on a survey conducted by Prisons & Corrections Section, State Bar of Michigan)

Second Chances: Juveniles serving life without parole in Michigan prisons (prepared by CAPPS Board Member Deborah LaBelle, who is directing the Juvenile Life without Parole Initiative for the ACLU.)

The Meaning of “life”: Long Prison Sentences in Context
(prepared by Marc Mauer, Ryan King, and Malcolm C. Young, Assistant Director,Research Associate, and Executive Director respectively, of The Sentencing Project)

Lifer Law is Misused
(article by CAPPS Executive Director Barbara R. Levine as a member of the Prisons and Corrections Section of the State Bar of Michigan)
 

Lifer Profiles
 

For More Information:

The meaning of life: Restoring fairness to Michigan's parole system, Supplemental material to the video

The parole process for lifers, a flow chart