Reflections on the criminal justice system from a Christian perspective
How Drones Became the New Contraband Pipeline Behind Bars The New Smuggling Route For decades, contraband entered prisons through familiar routes: over walls, inside vehicles, through compromised visitors, hidden in mail, or carried by corrupt insiders. Drones have changed that equation. A small aircraft can be launched from a roadside, a field, a parking lot, … Continue reading Prison DoorDash
Wrongful convictions in Michigan highlight significant flaws in the justice system, which struggles to recognize innocence after guilty verdicts. Since 1989, Michigan has seen over 190 exonerations due to advancements like DNA testing and Conviction Integrity Units. However, its compensation system lags, requiring high evidence burdens that many exonerees cannot meet. Proposed reforms, such as Senate Bill 909, aim to alleviate these issues by lowering proof thresholds and expanding eligibility for compensation. While Michigan's efforts to identify wrongful convictions are commendable, they reveal a critical gap: actual justice requires not just release from prison, but also meaningful support for rebuilding lives.
For millions of families, incarceration does not end at the prison gate. It follows them home in the form of phone bills, tablet fees, money-transfer charges, inflated commissary prices, and the constant pressure to pay for basic human connection and survival. What looks like a set of routine correctional services is, in practice, a captive-market economy built around people who cannot shop elsewhere and families who cannot simply walk away.
The article discusses the ongoing challenges of Michigan's prison system, particularly the lack of broad good-time and earned-time credit policies, which allow prisoners to reduce their sentences through good behavior and rehabilitation participation. Currently, Michigan's average minimum sentences have increased significantly, contributing to a higher prison population and increased corrections spending, which exceeds $2 billion annually. Evidence from other states illustrates that good-time credits can reduce recidivism and lower costs while promoting safety and rehabilitation. The author argues for reform, emphasizing the importance of creating incentives for prisoners to engage positively with rehabilitation programs, which in turn fosters public safety and effective reentry.
For many Americans, the phrase “justice-involved veteran” feels like a contradiction. Military service is commonly associated with discipline, sacrifice, and public honor. Yet for decades, thousands of veterans have cycled through jails and prisons in the United States. Their presence in correctional institutions is not a minor footnote in criminal justice history. It reflects a long-running intersection of war, trauma, addiction, mental health struggles, economic instability, and uneven access to treatment. At the same time, it has forced courts, policymakers, and veterans’ advocates to confront a difficult question: what should justice look like when criminal behavior is connected to military service and untreated wounds?
The article discusses two types of prison neglect in America: visible neglect, characterized by deteriorating conditions like mold and contaminated water, and administrative neglect that downplays these issues through bureaucratic tactics. The Michigan Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility exemplifies this problem, where reports of mold and poor ventilation have been ignored despite ongoing litigation. Nationally, a pattern of denial and deflection emerges, revealing a systemic failure to address environmental hazards in prisons, ultimately compromising inmates' health and safety.
I have previously written about my experience wearing a GPS Tether while on parole in an article called Tether Ball and Chain that was published back in December of 2018. Since then, as part of my ministry, I have spoken with other people who have had to wear a GPS tether as a condition of parole and a surprising number of them who must wear it for life. I thought it was time to revisit the topic with up-to-date information regarding electronic monitoring as used by the State of Michigan, with context about how this practice is used in other states and by the federal government.
May is Unlock the Box Mental Health Awareness Month, aimed at advocating against solitary confinement. The Unlock the Box Campaign, active in 22 states, highlights the severe psychological effects of solitary confinement, with Michigan's Open MI Door leading local efforts for reform. While some segregation may be necessary for safety, prolonged isolation causes significant harm and is inconsistent with human rights standards. Reform should focus on limiting segregation duration and promoting humane alternatives to improve inmate conditions and rehabilitative outcomes.
In many U.S. prisons, “lockdown” no longer describes a rare emergency response to a riot or a narrowly targeted security incident. It has become a recurring operational mode: housing units sealed, movement halted, yard and dayroom time canceled, phones restricted, visits suspended, and education, treatment, and job assignments paused—sometimes for days, weeks, or even months. Reporting in recent years has documented extended lockdowns tied not only to violence but also to chronic understaffing and overcrowding, raising a stark question: When a prison can’t run its basic schedule safely, are we still operating a rehabilitative institution or merely warehousing human beings behind steel doors?
“Ban the Box” laws were created to stop employers from using a checkmark on an application as a shortcut for exclusion. By delaying questions about criminal history until later in the hiring process—often after an interview or even after a conditional offer—these policies aim to ensure candidates are first evaluated on skills and experience. But delaying the question is not the same as limiting how criminal history is used. In practice, many applicants are still screened out once background checks occur, often through broad, risk-averse policies that treat any record as disqualifying. And for some people—especially those affected by ongoing civil restrictions like sex offense registration—there may be no real “fresh start” because the punishment never truly ends. In short, Ban the Box is a helpful first step, but it is not enough to stop background checks from becoming a quiet, permanent barrier to employment.