State faces hard choices as get-tough laws put more behind bars
By Charlie Cain and Gary Heinlein
The Detroit News
DETROIT, Mich. — Michigan runs one of the nation’s largest and most costly prison systems, a $2 billion-a-year expense that is crowding out other spending priorities at a rate many officials fear the state can no longer afford.
Yet despite near-unanimous agreement that Michigan can’t pay ever-rising corrections bills during a period of economic decline, politicians and law enforcement professionals remain hesitant to spend less by changing sentencing guidelines or paroling more prisoners.
“Our efforts to grow Michigan’s economy and keep our state competitive are threatened by the rising costs in the Department of Corrections,” Gov. Jennifer Granholm told The Detroit News. “We spend more on prisons than we do on higher education, and that has got to change.” ... Full Story