Hello Friends,
We are back again with our as bi-weekly update of things happening at the AFSC Michigan Criminal Justice Program. Now that Jacqueline Williams is on board as our new program associate, we are going to work hard to make sure we send out updates and calls to action more regularly. We are at capacity and doing our best!!
Welcome Jacq! Read more about Jacq in this interview.
Good Neighbor Program Presentation at Central Michigan University: Good Neighbor Project Director Demetrius Titus facilitated a fantastic presentation on Wednesday, September 25th alongside Daniel Jones, former juvenile lifer and long-time participant in the GNP. Together with Jones’ Good Neighbor Erin, they discussed the power of restorative justice through co-mentorships and relationship building. Dozens of people were in attendance, and the project added thirteen more free-world Good Neighbors to its ranks, with more folks likely to follow-up in the coming days.
MI-CEMI Work: The AFSC MCJP is proud to be part of the Michigan Collaboration to End Mass Incarceration, and together this collaborative has recently identified four key priority areas to focus on during the coming year, including: Prosecutorial Reform, Incarcerated Caregivers, Sex Offender Registry Reform, and implementation of strategies identified in the Jail and Pretrial Incarceration Task Force Meetings. Additionally, they have hired a project manager to organize and strategize around these priorities, and that is the aforementioned Daniel Jones, who was released in February and has worked with the AFSC for many years in curriculum development and facilitation work.
Addressing Life and Long Sentences: Some of the most important work AFSC strategizes around is decarceration of people serving life and long and indeterminate sentences. As many of you know, we organized a national convening to confront extreme sentencing this summer, and we continue to engage in this work on a day to day basis. Program Associate Jacqueline Williams attended a DROP LWOP convening in LA last week, which was a powerful convergence of directly impacted people, family members, and organizers making great strides around policy change. Additionally, the AFSC is planning a Michigan-specific follow-up to Ending Perpetual Punishment on October 9th. We look forward to sharing the strategies we develop and expanding our toolkit to getting more long serving people out of the system.
Pregnant Women Diversion Program: AFSC MCJP and Detroit Justice Center are engaged in weekly calls around our vision for keeping pregnant women out of the justice system. We are planning our first steering team meeting for next month, and are hoping to engage stakeholders from across the state who work in health, public health, harm reduction, social justice, social services, directly impacted spaces, criminal justice, and foundations to bring together a room full of knowledgeable voices working toward a common goal. We believe we can create safe, community-based regional spaces which support and restore the family bond, rather than drive people apart and destroy communities by punishing pregnant people and caregivers of young children. Stay tuned while this important work unravels!
Eliminating Mandatory Felony Firearm Excessive Punishment: AFSC MCJP has been helping to organize various stakeholders including: Siwatu’s Freedom Team, ACLU-MI, Safe & Just MI, JLUSA, and impacted folks to challenge the mandatory nature of the felony firearm sentence. We will be holding a community education workshop and story collection gathering on Wednesday, November 13 at Grace in Action, 1725 Lawndale, Detroit, MI from 5:30 to 8:30. Dinner will be included. We will send out formal invitations soon, but hold the date if you or someone you love has been impacted by this mandatory sentence. And, feel free to contact Natalie at nholbrook@afsc.org
Thank you for your support of the AFSC’s Michigan Criminal Justice Program!
In Peace and Solidarity,
The Team at AFSC
AFSC's Michigan Criminal Justice Program
124 Pearl Street, Suite 607
Ypsilanti, MI 48197