Advocates in Mid-Michigan fighting to rehabilitate criminals
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - A new approach to building safe communities. Helping convicted criminals avoid more crime once they are released back into communities across the state.
Tuesday, elected officials and survivors urge lawmakers to tackle the root cause of crime and address issues that most concern Michigan families. One issue, for example, making communities safer.
Some called the Safer Michigan Act an opportunity to train and teach inmates how to be productive in society after being released from prison. Priscilla Bordayo is now an advocate for crime survivors in Michigan. She said, “What victims and survivors want more than anything is, what happened to them to not happen again.” As a teenager, she was sexually abused.
“As a child, just not understanding the why. And becoming an adult, I just wanted to know, you know, ‘how could my father do this?’ I started to really dive into some of those root causes of the why.”
Bordayo said like herself, other crime victims want healing and safety. She said in order to obtain that, “you have to get to those root causes of why people do what they do.”
State Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit and survivors, like Bordayo, are calling for policies that help address trauma, prioritize rehabilitation, and tackle the root cause of crime. The Safer Michigan Act would establish productivity credits for inmates. It’s a program aimed at helping improve long-term outcomes for people after being released from prison.
Some state lawmakers are not in support of productivity credits, saying criminals should not be released early. State Rep. Graham Filler, R-Clinton County said 90% of Michigan inmates are already taking rehabilitation classes and getting out at their earliest parole date.
“I do think these bills are tone-deaf to the victim and the law enforcement community. I mean, you’re not going to believe the crimes that you could get out of prison early underneath this bill,” said Filler.
Bordayo said there are no excuses for committing a crime, but she recognizes that hurt people, hurt people and healed people, heal others.
“I know what it’s like to be a victim. I know what it’s like to remain victim-minded. But I wanted more for my life. I wanted to reach my full potential. And in order to do that, I had to truly heal. I had to forgive, not to excuse what was done but more to set myself free.”
Under this bill, eligible inmates would earn credits allowing them to be considered for parole sooner and prepared for success after release.
The House committee has not yet voted on the productivity section of the Safer Michigan Act.
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