“Formerly incarcerated individuals, their loved ones and allies held a Rally For Reform event on Tuesday [June 25], calling on the Legislature to prioritize several criminal justice reform packages that have been untouched for months — which has shaken their trust in Michigan’s Democratic leadership. …
Gretchen Whitmer, … Why don’t you want to pass any criminal justice reform bills?
“Putting people in prison is expensive and separating families is expensive, said Marcus Kelley [Leading with Conviction™ 2024 participant], a criminal justice reform advocate and formerly incarcerated individual. State funding would be better spent on youth programming to divert from crime than towards incarceration.
“‘Gretchen Whitmer, that is who we need to be talking to. Why don’t you want to pass any criminal justice reform bills? Why?’ Kelley said. ‘They’d rather destroy a school. That’s why these children right here have got to do a fish fry to raise money for jerseys and the travel and dance competitions and stuff, but they can’t get money from our government to do that because they would rather pay money to incarcerate us.’ …
“Kelley encouraged the crowd to look beyond [House Speaker Joe] Tate or other lawmakers of color who are more likely to be blamed for why criminal justice reform doesn’t move forward. Instead, he encouraged individuals involved with incarceration reform to run for office at the highest level …”
In our 10th anniversary year, JustLeadershipUSA’s work of educating, elevating, and empowering justice-impacted leaders continues and is growing even stronger!
We are preparing for our very special 10th anniversary gala in New York City on October 21st, and we would love for you to be there with us.
This is going to be a very special time to look back on the past decade of JLUSA’s important work, the 1,600+ leaders we have helped get to the next level in their work, and even more importantly, we will look ahead to the next 10 years and beyond!
We can’t do this without you. We need your support to help us continue to do this work now and into the future. By purchasing a $50 streaming ticket, you are saying to the amazing leaders in our network who represent the 70+ million Americans who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, “I see you, and I support you!”
Please plan now to join us in person or give a one-time $100 gift or set up a recurring $10 monthly donation to celebrate JLUSA’s 10th anniversary year, and together we will build a fair and just U.S. Thank you!
Mail that includes checks only:
JUSTLEADERSHIPUSA, INC
P.O. Box 23681
New York, NY 10087-3681
All other mail:
P.O. Box 1730, New York, NY 10037
347.454.2195
© 2024 JustLeadershipUSA. All Rights Reserved.
JustLeadershipUSA is a non-partisan organization. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed belong solely to the individual author or speaker, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the organization.
