Sign on and show your support for The Good Time Makes Good Sense Initiative.

I am signing this letter in support of restoring a Good Time policy to Michigan prisons. Currently, Michigan is one of only 6 states with no incentive for incarcerated citizens to earn any time off their sentences based on rehabilitation as demonstrated through positive behaviors. Because of our 100% Truth in Sentencing law and the lack of a Good Time policy, incarcerated individuals in Michigan serve approximately 126% of their minimum sentence or 6.5 years on average. Consequently, we are #1 in the country for length of time served. This results in 3.9% of our state budget being spent on corrections each year with no demonstrable benefit. Recidivism rates in Michigan are no better than other states; and, in fact, we rank higher than many other states for reported crimes such as rape, assault and murder. Clearly, there is no obvious connection between longer sentences and greater public safety. The bottom line is this ends up costing Michigan taxpayers over $2.3 billion annually, and the human price paid by society and affected families is immeasurably more. 

As a taxpayer and citizen of the state of Michigan, I feel passionately that we should implement a Good Time credit system for our incarcerated citizens to improve outcomes, increase public safety and spend less tax revenue on the Michigan Department of Corrections!