Chris Holman welcomes Chuck Warpehoski, Program Director at Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration, Ann Arbor, MI, but serving statewide.

Watch Chuck and Chris discuss Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration, and proposed legislation helping incarcerated Veterans in the YouTube video shared below! 

In the conversation, they cover several topics:

• November 11 is Veterans Day, why should we be worried about incarcerated Veterans on this day?

• Honoring our veterans making sure they get care and support after they come home, even if the trauma they’ve experienced in service leads them to make bad choices. There needs to be accountability for those choices, but we don’t need to be punitive. Even if a veteran does commit a crime, we can honor their service to our country by offering them a “second look” to ensure they are not serving an excessive sentence.

• You suggested “offering them a ‘second look.'” What exactly do you propose?

• A second look is a policy we are proposing that would allow someone who has already served 10-15 years of a long prison sentence the chance to have their sentence reviewed by their sentencing judge for possible reduction in their minimum sentence. The judge could consider factors such as the person’s age at the time of the crime or, particularly relevant for veterans, how their experiences of trauma might have played into the offense.

  If the person is resentenced, they would then be eligible to go before the parole board to see if they could come home safely.

• Is this safe?

• Yes, There are multiple elements. First, after resentencing the person still has to go through the parole board, so there are multiple checks on the process.

  Second, what we find is that long prison sentences don’t deter crime. Whether someone goes in for 10 years or 50 years, it doesn’t matter for preventing other crimes-even the department of justice recognizes this.

  Third, people grow up. The recidivism rate for people who are older and who have served long sentences is very low-about the same as the general population. 

• We have a duty to do right by our veterans, but are there other reasons to offer a second look?

• Prison is expensive, it costs about $47,000 per incarcerated person. Those costs are higher for people who would be eligible for second looks since they tend to be older with more expensive medical care needs. If we offer people a second look and let those who can come home safely to do so, that frees up a lot of money that could be used to prevent crimes, not just react to them. That means job training, substance use treatment, etc.

  Furthermore, you may have noticed, but there’s a worker shortage. Many of these veterans are trained, responsible, and could be useful to fill that shortage.

  Finally, many of the people doing long sentences have families, and their incarceration punishes their families as well-especially if they are parents. 

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