Michigan Votes Forum

bills as well!

I throughly support these bills and hope that Congress will look further into the matter of the prison system. Some people do deserve to stay in jail for their offenses but some are put back into prison moreso because of strict parole regulations. My own personal relative did everything in his power to rehabilitate himself and become a law abiding citenzin again. His main priority became getting his children back and he went to work and did everything that a regular citenzin does. He was coming home from work one day and was pulled over for a normal traffic violation. He had a valid driver license but because he was out after 11pm (a violation of parole) he was taken back to prison and given 12 months.... I hope that some of you reconsider your position on this subject. I am quite sure when the government does take the initiative to release these prisoners that they will have throughly investigated each and every one of their case files.

Thankyou to the Democrates. Not all in prisons are life time offenders. There are those that have realized the mistakes they made and regret them. Have done everything possible to improve themselves while in prison, although it is an up hill battle to get anyone in the correctional system to believe anyone can better themselves. Why not allow there to be good time credits? Only the ones who truely continue on the right course will benifit and the tax payers will also benifit.

Thankyou, for you common sense and your support of 4263 and 4262

My husband has received his GED he has also taken a few college courses as well as many classes that he has gotten certificates for. I feel that the state keeps these people beyond their erd for the money. And the classes that are mandatory before parole realese that is a joke. How can you mandatory something you can not accomadate? Why should the prisoner be penalized for the state not having enough teachers?

I dont agree with half the comments on here because due to the fact that these people are prisoners society automatically names them bad people. You have to remember that they are still human and just because they have made a mistake doesnt mean that there aren't people out there who love them. I say if they are non violent and have shown good behavior in prison, LET THEM GO and go on with their lives.

thinks the same way... sort of... she wants to completely close down prisons and release inmates no matter if they are violent or not. she intends to set thousands loose. how many of those will be truely NON VIOLENT when they get back out, and get a few drugs of choice into them? by the way, we call criminals bad people because, by definition, they ARE bad people. so bad that we have to separate them from society for YEARS AT A TIME. quit trying to make them all seem like innocent little lambs in cages.

read the case of the lady who was asking for help for her 'loved one', who was in jail for 16 felonies, was a two time loser, and had charges ranging from burglary, breaking and entering, and recieving stolen things, to assault with intent to do great bodily harm and escape. this guy has till 2011 before he can even be considered for starting good time, if the governor doesn't let him out because we can't afford to keep him in. i can understand giving a ONE CHARGE first offender a SECOND CHANCE, but not a scum bag like this guy. by all rights, this guy deserves to be in prison a lot longer.

I fully support BILL 4262 & 4263. Thank you for investing your time and taking charge of something that should have been done along time ago. Thank You for taking charge of Michigan's Future.

to release violent criminals-including the Govenor all people are trying to say is that inmates that are in for nonviolent crimes and have had good behavior while incarcerated can be looked at for release. Furthermore inmates that are over their minimums who have not recieved any tickets and have shown an interest in living life the right way should be able to recieve good time credits! I just want to voice my support for these bills, the govenor, and thank Mr. Cushingberry for these bills they make sense and they have support!

bill is lauditory, but not very well thought out. kind of like this bill. this bill makes NO distinction on crime committed. it makes NO distinction as to whether or not the inmate maintains a 'clean' disciplinary record. this bill is simply a band aid to release inmates early, before they have paid their FULL debt to society.

that they are going to release violent criminals. they are going to close prisons too, so we have no place else to put them when they get re-arrested. that someone is your democrat governor. THAT'S who's saying it.

taking care of criminals, the people who will be utmost in our thoughts in our future. thank you for coddling them while they are in your care, and thank you for returning them earlier to the loving arms of those they screwed over to go to jail. thank you for taking away their hobby of sodomizing their cell mate, or being sodomized BY their cell mate as the case may be. thank you for returning these pearls of humanity to the fold of society.

I believe that Good time is not only appropriate but necessary. I also believe that the majority of Michiganders posting here, are ignorant. Unfortunately it seems the ignorant like to post over and over and over and over again with no point but to dig a deeper whole of stupidity within themselves. To stay on topic, I believe and encourage leg. to vote and pass the Good Time Bills. It is long over dew and was a drastic mistake Engler made and left behind.

someone who spells "due" as "dew" can call someone else ignorant.

ya, i commeted 6 felonies. you asked if they were mistakes. at the time, no. i ment to do everything i did. i was a drug addict. i wanted money for drugs. so, i robbed some houses. do i consider what i did a mistake now? yes. would i do it again? no. however, i didn't understand addiction and i didn't understand consequences. i sarted doing herion and before i knew it, one day i didn't feel too good when i didn't have it. after that i needed it. and, when i say i didn't understand consequences, i mean that i didn't understand that what i was doing was hurting people and that i was gonna get in alot of trouble for doing it. all i cared about was getting drugs. i was 22 at the time. i'm 27 now. i did 3 1/2 years in prison. i know about the prison system first hand. to hear alot of the comments on here about locking away guys forever and all that really upsets me. it upsets me to see all the ignorance and to know that many people suffer because of it. alot of the comments i see are from people who think they're right, won't listen to other people, and who won't take the time to research the subject they speak on to see if maybe they might be wrong. TIS is not helping. i didn't get in any trouble the whole time i was in prison. i got one ticket, for not making my bed, and that was it. however, there was no reward for that. if anything TIS just made me bitter. alot of people it just makes say "f it". why should they do better? no one cares. and to all you people that say how great you were raised and how smart you are and how you never do anything wrong and that drug addiction or prison could never happen to you, i say, whatever. i was raised in a good house, went to catholic school, practised martial arts my whole life (i am currently training to become a professional cage fighter), was army 82nd airborne infantry, was a camp counciler, and i have an IQ of 129. however, like i said, things can happen to anybody. i've been on parole now for 19 months. i get off in a few months. what did i learn about the justice system and the department of corrections? i learned that it's all corrupt and they don't care about anyone. all they want is the money that they can make off of each person they put in prison. they don't care that you were robbed, raped, or even killed. all they care about is that they can mke money off of the person that committed the crime. if there was no money in the justice system, i could walk outside right now and kill the first person i saw. and for those of you that scoff at what i say, do your research on it. OJ simpson proved to the world what money can do. and i dare you to argue with that. whether you think he actually committed that crime or not. if that were me or you in that same situation, we'd be in prison for the rest of our lives', somewhere that they'd have to mail daylight to us. so, all i'm saying is that we need to get rid of TIS. like the other person on here said, we need to give good time to show the people in prison that there are negative reactions to their bad behavior (not getting good time), and positive reactions to their good behavior (having 5 days taken off of each month). as it is now, we're not doing anything to rehabilitate anyone. and that's what prison is supposed to be about. rehabilitation. i could go on and on. hopefully, the majority of you understand what i am saying. in closing i would like to end with a qoute. "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

very well-what she said was that she was looking to release non-violent offenders......obviously you missed that part huh? That's the problem some people only hear what they want to especially when it comes to a democrat. Furthermore this bill that has been introduced for good time credits only take five days off of each month that an inmate recieves no disciplinary tickets. Basically if they act accordingly this will allow release at about their minimum which is in accordance with the court sentencing anyway.

the text. It does say that the five days off of each month will only be effective if the inmate does not have any tickets that month. Tickets are given for various things including contraband, disciplinary issues, not keeping their space clean, being in restricted areas, not being in areas at the alloted times, and all in all not following directions and rules. Read the bills completely before you jump to conclusions about what they don't do.

First of all unless you've been incarcerated, worked at a correctional facility, or visited one you have no idea what they do there beside what crap you must have seen on t.v. ! These inmates get three hots and a cot, one uniform, one pair of shoes-anything else is paid for by family. That includes doctor visits, dentist visits, medication, extra food, extra clothes, phone card so please know about what you speak. Stop watching so much t.v. and listening to the bull being fed to you by republican conservatives who probably never even visited a prison to know what goes on, if you want to know something see it for yourself before you comment uneducatedly.

that a man such as Engler who screwed the state of Michigan over by not really looking at the monetary impact of TIS on our economy, was promoted to being a member of the Pres. cabinet, I guess that says it all about our current leadership in this country. The rich get richer and the poor just continue to get poorer that's the way the republican's operate! Now let's all wish Halliburton good luck building the ethonal plant in Brazil, when it should be right here in America! Sorry farmers of the US Cheney's company needed more money, Iraq hasn't paid enough!

plants in brazil since the 60's. brazil has operated on almost pure ethanol for almost that long. get your head out of the liberal playbook and look around.

First of all unless you've been incarcerated, worked at a correctional facility, or visited one you have no idea what they do there beside what crap you must have seen on t.v. ! [i have worked at one, for over five years. i also spent seven years as a cop. i'm not the one who wrote the message you are replying to, but i am 'educated' on the subject. you visit once a month, if that much, and i spent twelve hours a day there.] These inmates get three hots and a cot, one uniform, one pair of shoes-anything else is paid for by family. That includes doctor visits, dentist visits, medication, extra food, extra clothes, phone card so please know about what you speak. [prisoners should not have access to anything but a PRISON DOCTOR, PRISON DENTIST, AND STATE ISSUED MEDICATION. as for extra food, if the inmate cannot sit around his cell all day on what the prison feeds him, he has no business being in jail in the first place. now, about that phone card. i don't believe that a prisoner should have ANY contact with the outside world under ANY circumstances. no visitation, no phone calls, no mail, no newspaper, no televison. nothing. that's all part and parcel of being ostracised from society.] Stop watching so much t.v. and listening to the bull being fed to you by republican conservatives who probably never even visited a prison to know what goes on, if you want to know something see it for yourself before you comment uneducatedly. [now, how about YOU stop listening to the liberal pap fed to you by the public school system. i WORKED THERE for five years. i can tell you that the inmates get treated MUCH BETTER than they treated their victims, and MUCH BETTER THAN THEY DESERVE.] now, before you go off ASSUMING that you are the only one who has seen the inside of a prison, think again, or in your case, think for the FIRST TIME.

was that she was closing prisons and releasing inmates. she said NOTHING about releasing non-violent inmates. now, where is she going to put those VIOLENT inmates that are left over after the NON-VIOLENT ONES are released en masse and before she CLOSES THE PRISON??? maybe you think it's a good idea to get your "loved one" back into YOUR arms, instead of his cellmates, but the REST of us don't agree.

you made mistakes. on top of mistakes. all someone has to do is tempt you into taking heroin ONE MORE TIME and you are back being a slave to it. you admitted to caring about nothing but getting more drugs. that NEVER goes away. YOU don't understand about addiction. it's not here one day and gone the next. you will do anything, kill anyone, to get more drugs. the "you" that was in jail was not the "you" on drugs. the only "you" that was ever out was addicted to drugs. the "you" that was in jail never had drugs. how long will you stay off heroin once the drug tests stop? how long will it take for one of your 'buddies' to come over with some and offer it to you? will you kick them out? or will you have a hit? how long till one of those 'buddies' thinks it's funny to leave a little in your car, or under your sofa, just to give the drug dog a little lift when he turns you in? how long till you feel you must use what you've learned to take money from someone who is defenseless anyway, just to have another hit? those who have travelled this way before have really fouled this up for you. they have done all these things, and more. that's why the system is being so harsh on you. the system that brought the drugs here for you to take is MUCH more corrupt than the prison system. now, WHY did you take the drugs in the first place?

i put in another comment, that i posted, that people need to do their research before they post a comment. do you really think that people in prison can't get drugs? i could get anything you can get on the street, and probably more, in prison. my bunkie used to play poker and do herion all the time. i smoked weed 3 times. the last time i did i had a drug test 2 weeks later. all i kept thinking about was the letter i was gonna have to write home to my mom telling her how i got caught for smoking weed and now i was gonna have to do extra time. i never did drugs again after that. and i didn't get out of prison until about 2 years after that. now, as for what you said about how i'd get out and start doing drugs again and start killing people for them and how it's only a matter of time and all that. thanks for the encourgement. my aunt has been in aa for over 20 years and she hasn't done a drug in all that time. as for myself, i have gotten high since i've been on parole. last march i started doing herion again. before i went to prison, i used to shoot it. last march someone had it and they were "just" snorting it. i thought that was ok. after doing it every day for 2 months, i knew i had a habbit. i tried for the next 2 months to stop. i couldn't, though. once i ran out of money did i go out and start robbing and killing people? no. i had been down that road before. i had already been to prison and had learned what the consequences of my actions are. so, i checked myself into a rehab. i stayed for 90 days. i could've left anytime i wanted to, but i sat through all the withdrawls and everything else because i did not want to do and go through the things i had done before. i got out of there in october. i've been clean ever since. in closing, please, before any of you reply to this, reply to any other comment, or just post your own comment, do your research. i'm really not trying to talk bad of anyone or call anyone names, but it really does kill me to see how ignorant people are. it is this ignorance that is the cause of these laws like TIS. i am someone who has spent 10 years in this state's "justice" system. i know what i am talking about. i don't just state my opinion on here. i state facts. so, if you are going to reply to me, come with facts or don't bother because i won't respond. the first place you can go to do your research is the CAPPS website. (citezens allience against prisoner and public spending). they write most of the articles, that you read in the freepress, about the prisons. if anyone would like to get a hold of me, you can contact me at myspace.com/ninjaxxxxxxxxx (that's 9 x's after ninja)

if i had one wish it would be to put all you prison gaurds, judges, and prosicuiters in a cell somewhere.

your wicked way with them.

is good for the soul. thanks, ninjaxxxx, for confessing to MORE crimes. this is what happens when you deal with people addicted to doing the wrong thing. the truth is not in them. goodness is not in them. only evil. the wish that every law abiding citizen, especially those who he believes put him in jail, to suffer as he has suffered. news flash, ninja, if YOU would not have screwed up SIX TIMES WILLINGLY, you wouldn't have spent a DAY in jail. those prosecutors and police officers wouldn't have been able to think about touching you. in other words, YOU DID IT TO YOURSELF. LIVE WITH IT.

for six felonies, did a couple more IN JAIL, then got out, and did exactly what we all said you would do, which is go right back to doing drugs. you admit to doing them, which is ANOTHER FELONY. that makes you a recidivist. one of the many who should NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR GOOD TIME. your support is laudible, but irrelevent. as a multiple felon, you should lose your right to vote permanently. as a multiple felon, no one really CARES what your opinion is on early release, we KNOW you want to be released early. as a multiple felon and a recidivist, you lost all respect from the general public. you have chosen the path that leads back to your cellmate, once again proving that you being porked up the poop chute by your cellie is more important than anything else in your life, except drugs.

when did i ever complain about the time i did or not accept responsibility for what i did? are you reading what i write or what you want to see? i accept resposibility for everything i did. what i did say, though, is that the "justice" system needs an extreme makeover. it's a joke. i'm not here to talk about me or anything else like that. the only reason i mention myself is to show people on here where my point of view comes from. while i'm writing, i have a question for everyone on here. and this especially goes out to all you people that talk all this trash to others on here and try to talk all smart, but really have no idea about what you say. why am i the only one on here with the balls to post my user name? if you people stand behind your opinion so much and think that you're so right about everything you say, why don't you put a name behind your statement? just wondering

it's people like you that make people get out of prison and still do the smae things over again. even after they've paid their "debt to society", people like you still fuck them over. what incentive or reason do they have then to even try to be a part of normal society? and i dare you to tell me that in your whole life you've never committed a crime, no matter how big or small. now, tell me the difference between what you did and what someone in prison did. maybe i'll just tell you. the answer is that there is no difference. so, again, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

willingly commit SIX FELONIES, like you did i didn't do drugs, like you did, and still do. i didn't commit crimes in jail, like you did. i didn't commit crimes AFTER jail, like you did, and still do. why do you NOT want to be part of society? why do you NOT want to obey the rules? why do you wish to rob and steal from people? there is only one logical reason. you like being in jail. you miss your cellmate, and his gentle touch. your carnal needs FORCE you to take drugs, rob and steal, and even try to commit more serious crimes. if ANYONE is causing you to do what it takes to go back to jail, it's HIM.

liberals don't use a 'user name'. anonymity gets the point across much more effectively.

you must be a fag. does it turn you on to think about me and my bunkie having sex? it seems like it does. that's all you talk about. i make valid points and all you can do is talk about gay shit and try to say other bad things about me. it's funny, though. i think you're an idiot and i'm sure that the other intellegent people on here think that you're a moron, too. don't be a computer gangster. don't talk shit on the internet. i never insulted you. i'm trying to educate people on here about the prison system and have intellegent conversations with people. i don't care that their opinion may differ from mine. i'm open minded and i'm not trying to argue with anyone. i never said that i know everything. all i've said is that i have been through the system before and i have a unique point of view to offer. and i welcome the thoughts and opinions of others. it wouldn't be very interesting without them. people like you just get ion the way. look at how imituar you've been. you act like a kid. to top it off, the responses you have to me aren't even about what i've said. half of your response is to what you chose to hear out of the comments i leave. so, if you want to have an intellegent conversation that brings light to the isues at hand, then, please, respond to the comments i leave. if not, then just don't say anything. all you're making yourself out to be is an idiot and a computer gangster. and, if you don't know what that is, it's a coward that will only talk tough on the computer because he knows that he'd have a few marks on him if he ever talked that way to someone in person. so, please, i'm not here to play these bitch games.

i'm glad someone is paying attention

I AGREE WITH YOUR POST 110%. MANY OF THESE PEOPLE ON HERE HAVEN'T THE FAINTEST IDEA ABOUT REAL LIFE. ALL THEY CAN DO IS BITCH, GRUDGE, JUDGE, AND CAST STONES. HEARTLESS, SMALL, & BRAINLESS IDIOTS. THIS IS WHY THE MICHIGAN COURTS, OUR PRISON SYSTEM, AND OUR FINANCIAL DEBT IS CURRENTLY LIKE IT IS. ENGLER/REPUBLICAN MESS! WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THE TIME BEFORE HE SCREWED EVERYTHING UP!

very good at bitching, judging, and casting stones.

thank you for your comment and support and to the person who wrote comment 80. are you serious? people leave their opinions on here and all you can do is say bad things to them. does that make you feel good? you have no knowledge of anything relevent to this bill or the comments people leave that state fact or a fact orientated opinion, so you just say bad things to people because you don't agree with them. you're probably the same person who was leaving comments to the things i was saying. i haven't seen a comment on here in a week. all of a sudden comment #79 was posted and you've got something to say. guess you needed an easier target because you haven't responded to the last comment i left. in any case, please, leave comments that contain facts or factual opinion. don't put people down because you can't think of anything intellegent to say. if you don't agree with a comment or opinion, come with some facts on why you believe the person to be wrong. if this bill doesn't pass it's because of ignorence and that is really sad. this bill could do alot of good. once again, if anyone cares to research the facts, go to the CAPPS (citezens alience against prisoner and public spending) website and read the information that is posted on the site.

against prisoners, and i am against public spending on them, does that qualify me for membership??? i understand that YOU, as a prisoner, don't WANT to be punished for your crimes. i also understand that YOU don't care about the VICTIMS OF YOUR CRIMES, and what you did to them. did THEY want to have that done to them? now i understand that you committed several felonies, and admitted that you would do them again, if you got the chance. i also understand that you have gone back to taking illegal drugs. i'm SURE that this is in violation of your parole agreement, and i'm POSITIVE that this is against the law. i'm not sure which drugs you are currently taking, but i'm fairly certain that whatever it is, it's a felony for you to be taking them. you, and the other BLEEDING HEARTS that post here constantly whine about SECOND CHANCES. YOUR second chance was after you committed your FIRST felony. YOU followed that up, not by 'mending your ways' and 'walking the straight and narrow path', but by committing several more felonies. you admit that you were not SORRY for what you did AT THE TIME, and that you would do them again if you got the chance. so, please explain why we should give a flying rat's ass about you and your opinion on this matter? let the law abiding citizens decide your fate.

the inmates are required 2 pay for the tether programs. not tax payers.