Faces behind the figures

Are you safer because these men and women are behind bars?

About the profiles

The prisoners profiled here have one thing in common. They are being kept in prison at great expense to taxpayers although they present no significant risk to the public. Most have served the time required by their sentences and could be released by the parole board. Some present special circumstances that demonstrate the need for changes in law or practice.

These men and women are not claiming innocence. Some have committed very serious crimes, often when they were quite young. Others have repeatedly committed non-violent offenses. Many have had difficult, disordered lives due to factors such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, poverty and mental illness. But the question to be asked in each case now is not whether the person should have been punished at all, or whether their lives might still be difficult when they are released, or even whether they could conceivably commit another crime in the future, however unlikely that might be. The question is whether, based on all the facts and circumstances, continued incarceration is fair, reasonable and cost-effective.

Each of these prisoner profiles raises a number of issues, such as:

• Why is parole denied to people who have served their minimum sentences and have good institutional records?

• Are years of additional prison time the best response to non-criminal violations of parole supervision rules?

• Should Michigan taxpayers keep paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to house
prisoners who could be deported to other countries or released to chronic care facilities?

• Do we really have truth in sentencing if the parole board routinely overrides the minimum sentence for reasons already considered by judges and in plea negotiations?

• Should whole broad categories of prisoners, such as sex offenders and assaultive offenders, be treated as if their offenses were all the same?

• Is it fair for the parole board to interpret paroable life terms far differently than judges intended when they imposed those sentences decades ago?

• Have we lost our sense of proportion so that in many cases the punishment no longer fits the crime?

• Are we so focused on punishment that we ignore evidence of genuine rehabilitation?

The prisoners profiled here represent thousands more whom we warehouse at an average annual cost of $29,OOO each. We hope you will consider the broad questions their cases raise, along with each person's unique facts. Above all, as you read each person's story, please ask yourself -- Is this the best way to spend the public's money?