LANSING, Mich. – A rally will be held in Lansing on Thursday in support of legislation that would restore Michigan prisoners’ ability to earn time off their sentence with good behavior.
The Michigan Justice Advocacy is calling for people to join them for a Rally4GoodTime at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, 2023, on the West Capitol Lawn.
The rally is set for the same day state Rep. Amos O’Neal is expected to introduce a bill to the House that would reestablish the good time credit for people serving prison time.
The bill would help anyone currently serving time in the Michigan Department of Corrections. Incarcerated people would be able to receive a credit for any month they did not have a Class 1 misconduct, according to the MJA.
If someone had served 4 years (48 months) and received two Class 1 tickets they would be eligible for a 22-month reduction to their earliest release date, according to the MJA.
Why doesn’t Michigan have a good time credit?
Incarcerated people in Michigan state prisons are required to serve their minimum sentence and cannot earn credits for good behavior unless the crime was committed before 1987.
What are known as “good time” laws allowed days to be subtracted from an incarcerated person’s sentence for good behavior. Michigan’s Truth in Sentencing law was established in 1998 and eliminated good time credits. The 1998 law requires incarcerated people to serve their entire minimum sentence before they can be considered for parole.
If a person committed a crime after April 1, 1987, and is sentenced to state prison, they will be required to serve their minimum sentence regardless of good behavior or participation in rehabilitation activities.
“MDOC residents have endured one of the harshest sentencing guidelines in the United States because of its archaic truth-in-sentencing laws,” the Liberty and Justice For All Coalition said in a press release. “Good time credits incentivize incarcerated individuals to participate in rehabilitative practices. Instead of the imprisoned spending years of their lives in a cell without hope, good time allows them to pursue an education, job skills, and discover the power of community redemption and reunite with their families.”
According to the coalition, 16 states enacted the truth-in-sentencing guidelines from 1994 to 1998 to receive incentives from the federal government. The incentives ended in 2000. Many of those states now have less-restrictive sentencing guidelines.