The keys are NOT thrown away when people are incarcerated. The Michigan prison system has reached maximum pressure.
In 2018, Governor Gretchen Whitmer promised to be the Michigan Corrections Organization's partner. It has been six years and the staffing crisis has only gotten worse.
Governor Whitmer, please stand by your words!
On July 3, 2024 Michigan Corrections Organization President Byron Osborn requested that Governor Gretchen Whitmer active the National Guard to provide immediate custody support to prisons.
As of October 16, 2024, Governor Whitmer has not responded.
MCO in Crisis
- Carson City Correctional Facility – Informational Picket – September 16, 2024
- Ypsilanti Area Informational Picket – September 5, 2024
- Jackson Area – Informational Picket – August 29, 2024
- Chippewa/ Kinross Correctional Facilities – Informational Picket – August 19, 2024
- Marquette Branch Prison – Informational Picket – August 21, 2024
Facility Crisis Reports
- September 4, 2024 – Cooper Street Correctional Facility – KYI Special Edition Crisis Report
- August 27, 2024 – Charles E. Egeler Reception & Guidance Center – KYI Special Edition Crisis Report
- August 16, 2024 – G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility – KYI Special Edition Crisis Report
- August 8, 2024 – Chippewa Correctional Facility – KYI Special Edition Crisis Report
- July 30, 2024 – Marquette Branch Prison – KYI Special Edition Crisis Report
Staff Assaults Across Michigan
- 8/8/24 – Staff Assault – Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility
- 6/24/24 – Staff Assault – St. Louis Correctional Facility
- 7/20/24 – Staff Assault – Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility
- 6/25/24 – Staff Assault – Chippewa Correctional Facility
- 6/28/24 – Staff Assault – Macomb Correctional Facility
Governor Gretchen Whitmer,
I am asking you to step in and address the dangerous working conditions inside your prisons. There have been attempts at short-term solutions, yet the staffing crisis has persisted and worsened throughout your time as governor.
State corrections officers are suffering. They are forced to work long, dispiriting hours and are denied normal, healthy lives with their families. They are forced to run prisons with less than adequate numbers of officers and are utterly fatigued. Under your leadership, their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, are being harmed.
I support Michigan Corrections Organization President Byron Osborn’s request to activate the Michigan National Guard to provide immediate custody support to prisons. They have been seeking effective relief solutions for years and are now at the point of desperation.
