I am not sure who needs to hear this....but economic expectations for people coming back from incarceration are INSANE
1. When I got out, I had $10,000 in court costs, fines & fees, charges per day from when I was in jail awaiting transfer to prison etc.
2. In addition, when I was incarcerated, the State of Michigan found out I had money in a bank account and took it as part of paying the price of my incarceration (well over $1,000)
3. After I was released, I was forced to wear an electronic monitor for nearly two years....I am still paying the cost of that off...it was over $6,000
4. After I was released I was forced to pay a portion of my supervision costs....I am still paying the cost of that off...it was over $3,000
So, if you add it all up, we are talking $20,000
Think about that for a few minutes
5. Remember, none of that covers necessary costs when I was in prison (I tried to live very frugally, but I did have money in my account every month and occasionally had to pay for health care etc.)
6. Now look, in a financial sense, I am incredibly lucky...I am single, no kids...after a number of years struggling, I found a good job and can afford to make payments.
I am the exception....probably less than 5% of people returning are in my situation
7. Most people returning from incarceration don't make $20,000 a year....and they often have kids, and a family they have to support....Forcing people to make choices between feeding their families and paying off criminal justice debt is ludicrous
8. Making people radically financially insecure during reentry is probably the dumbest possible thing anyone could imagine....It is galactically stupid....it is a recipe for recidivism and disaster
WE HAVE TO STOP SETTING PEOPLE UP FOR FAILURE
9. We always talk about "Public Safety" on the front end...when we pass new "tough on crime" legislation or insist on strict controls on folks
NOTHING about these crazy fines and fees makes anyone safer...it hurts returning citizens, it hurts their kids, it makes us less safe
10, If it is in the public interest to incarcerate people, to insist on them wearing monitors, to insist on them having supervision....we have just as much public interest in ENSURING THEY CAN COME HOME AMD REBUILD THEIR LIVES SUCCESSFULLY
11. In my first year home, I made less than $6,000....I was turned down dozens of times for work....I had to constantly hustle just to EAT
And yet, I was constantly pressured to pay fines & fees (even threatened with having my parole or probation revoked)....sigh
12. I will repeat, when you make people radically insecure...when they have to worry about a roof over their heads, food for their kids, and constant bills, it is NO WONDER people return to activities that are illegal but lucrative....we need to stop being IDIOTS
13. I understand people think people should have to pay for their mistakes, TRUST ME,prison is forcing people to pay for their mistakes and it serves NO valid public interest to make people constantly stressed....it forces people to choose between their kids, debt, & crime
14. Oh, one thing I left out, I didn't even include restitution (I was not forced to pay restitution)...For some people that adds additional costs.
I do not think my story is unique, and I am not really complaining for myself
15. And here is something else to consider....we all pay taxes so that when we are in need, there will be a safety net....We invest in that safety net, so that when we need help there will be help....Going to prison is rarely something people expect to do..
16. It is easy to pretend incarceration will never impact you...but for 70 million people in this country...that was not the case
I had never even had more than a traffic ticket when I was arrested....It can happen to you....or to someone you love or care about
17. I also understand people have the right to think what they think....I am just trying to communicate that what we are doing is INCREDIBLY counterproductive to public safety, destructive to families, and people literally have to walk on water to ever get past it all
18. And remember, not getting past it all usually means RECIDIVIST crimes as people go back to trying to make real money, in order to be financially secure.
Successful reentry is about helping people find a future they can believe in for themselves and their families
19. All I am saying is that we need to seriously reconsider this model....We have courts that are assigning fines and fees b/c they literally need the money to stay open....We have county jails doing the same thing....Yes, we all hate taxes, but this model is POISONOUS
20. Last but not least...
I ask you to think about the time in your own life when you were the most financially insecure, now imagine you were being hounded every day by people asking for money and threatening to incarcerate you if you don't pay
That IS OUR REENTRY MODEL FIN
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A huge thank you to everyone in the Michigan Legislature....all 20 bills created out of Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration have now passed and are headed to @GovWhitmer for her signature
People will not be incarcerated because of drivers license suspensions unrelated to dangerous driving, this is one of the largest drivers of incarceration in Michigan
Officers will be able to give citations in lieu of arrest in many of not most misdemeanor situations....something I testified about in front of the task force myself.
It is not censorship when a company chooses not to endorse or distribute your messages....people are not compelled to support or endorse your speech on or using property they own
It is fair to ask why we have decided to make corporately owned platforms, in essence, the 'public square,' but that does not change the fact that these are corporately owned platforms....Twitter has every right (it is in the TIS) to comment or ban me (or anyone else)
If you went to Starbucks, and they had a bulletin board people were invited to use, and you chose to post a racist message...it is not first-amendment protected censorship for Starbucks to take it down...if you put up a lie, they can contest what you said
The WSJ story on Dr. Jill Biden was a troll (trolling for clicks)
The National Review story on Dr. Jill Biden is a troll
They say something offensive and outrageous to get attention, retweets, and to attain virality, it is literally the business model
When you give the story oxygen, when you make it a thing, when you actually retweet the story....you are helping them make money and gain attention.
They do this on purpose
This also explains why all media - right and left - in a sense - work together....Right wing media says something we find offensive - left wing media goes crazy...left wing media says something the right finds offensive....right wing media goes crazy
If people cannot return from incarceration and find housing and employment....If they cannot connect with their community and families....
What exactly do you expect they will do?
The ability to return connected is a public safety imperative
Why do we consider to expect people to embrace a society that shuns them, that often relegates them to homelessness and unemployment, that often doesn't allow them a voice in their own government, and that makes connection nearly impossible
NIMBY is counterproductive
In Oklahoma right now, law enforcement is running a scare tactics campaign to scare voters into refusing SQ 805
The question is NOT if there will be recidivism, there is recidivism now...the question SHOULD BE will there be more recidivism BEFORE or AFTER reform is passed.