CHRIS GAUTZ

Authorities at a Michigan prison want to know how two inmates got ahold of cell phones, shot a music video in their cell and then posted the video online.

A music video shot behind bars at the Macomb Correctional Facility results from two cellmates getting together, hoping to make a hit.

JACKSON COUNTY, MI - A Michigan Department of Corrections officer from Jackson was killed Saturday night in a motorcycle crash on I-94, police said. Investigators determined a 2020 Yamaha motorcycle driven by Jamie Brockwell, 49, of Jackson, lost control on the westbound I-94 entrance ramp and struck a guardrail, police said. Brockwell began his career as a corrections officer in 1998 at Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian, said Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz. Parnall Correctional Facility staff described Brockwell as a “one-of-a-kind officer,” Gautz said. “Officer Brockwell was also appreciated for his high degree of involvement in recruitment and always being security-minded,” Gautz said.

MUSKEGON, MI – After serving 30-plus years behind bars for a murder she committed at the age of 16, Amy Lee Black, a juvenile lifer, has been released from prison. Black received a sentence of 35 to 60 years in August 2021 and because of good time credits, she became immediately eligible for parole, Gautz previously told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. RELATED: Juvenile lifer Amy Black granted parole for killing Muskegon County man when she was 16Black and Abrahamson were convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery for the Dec. 7, 1990, killing of VanBogelen. After discovering Black was granted parole, MLive contacted Black for an interview using a prison email service, JPay. RELATED: Justice system has ‘failed my family miserably,’ widow says of prison release for convicted murdererOn her way out of prison, Black received her birth certificate, social security card and state ID, Gautz said.

John Skelton is serving a a 10- to 15-year sentence on three counts of unlawful imprisonment of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. The boys disappeared while with their father at Thanksgiving 2010.

Spanish and Swahili dictionaries are banned in Michigan prisons. An official says the ban is to prevent prisoners from being disruptive.

LANSING, MI – Michigan’s prisons are struggling with worker burnout due to “excessive” mandated overtime shifts as the Michigan Department of Corrections deals with more than 800 staff vacancies across the state, officials say. Alexander said the bill would address critical staff shortages in Michigan prisons, including in Alexander’s 64th House District, where there are four correctional facilities in the city of Jackson. That seems to have been historically a good balance, where it allows staff who want to work overtime to do so. The department has also tried to minimize the impact of staff vacancies by closing 41 housing units across the state’s 27 prison facilities, which has allowed the department to staff fewer positions. WhitmerNorthern Michigan middle school teacher charged with assault following incident with student8 Michigan hospitals, hundreds of care sites will unite under new Trinity Health brand

A state correction official says a Michigan man who was serving life sentences for the 1972 killings of four women in the Kalamazoo area has died after being found unresponsive in prison.

“These staff shortages are making life immeasurably worse for inmates," said Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor.

A recent federal court ruling ensures Michigan prisoners who practice Judaism will receive holiday cheesecake behind bars. U.S. District Judge Linda Parker, following a one-day trial in 2019, sided with the Jewish prisoners and ordered the MDOC to submit an agreement to feed prisoners dairy products and kosher meat on certain days. Parker also agreed that prisoners should be allowed cheesecake on Shavuot, based on claims that it’s part of the celebratory ritual of the religious holiday. And at dinnertime, they will feed them chicken bologna.”Attorneys for the MDOC have questioned the authenticity of Jewish prisoners’ religious piety. “And their purchases have not been insignificant in relation to their low wages and the cost of meat and dairy products.

MUSKEGON, MI - A prisoner was attacked and killed Saturday afternoon by two other inmates at a Muskegon correctional facility, according to a written statement from the Michigan Department of Corrections. The victim was in his cell at Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility around 3:30 p.m. Saturday when two other prisoners walked in and attacked him with a weapon, according to the statement. The other inmates were in his cell for less than a minute before leaving. Along with the victim’s cellmate, the suspects were placed in segregation and have since been transferred to a maximum-security facility, according to the statement. Michigan State Police has arrived at the facility to begin an investigation, according to the statement.

SAGINAW, MI — After months of freedom on parole, a Saginaw man who had his 2015 murder conviction overturned is back in jail to await another trial. He was lodged in the Saginaw County Jail as of 2:36 p.m. that day. A three-judge Michigan Court of Appeals on Feb. 13, 2020, vacated Reed’s convictions and ordered his case remanded to Saginaw County Circuit Court for a new trial. He remains charged in Saginaw County with open murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and numerous firearm offenses. Read more:Saginaw man granted new trial in 2013 murder; prosecution appealsMen convicted in West Side Saginaw murder, face life without parole

MARQUETTE, MI – A sergeant was assaulted at an Upper Peninsula prison on Monday, July 12, when he attempted to break up a gang-related, four-on-one fight during maximum security yard time, officials said. The sergeant who was injured was the first to respond to the fight at 1:10 p.m. Monday and was attacked by the inmates, including a punched to the head, Gautz said. Additional officers quickly responded and broke up the fight using chemical agents. “Our staff have a very difficult job, especially when dealing with maximum security prisoners,” Gautz said. “That could come in the next day or so.”READ MORE:Tearjerker ‘end of watch’ video released in honor of U.P.

Michigan is one of four states launching a new program to connect people transitioning out of the criminal justice system to restaurant jobs. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation was awarded $4 million toward the program and will use the funds to launch the job skills program Hospitality Opportunities for People (re)Entering Society (HOPES). Michigan, Delaware, Ohio and Texas received grant money to train and prepare formerly incarcerated people for jobs and careers in the restaurant, food service and hospitality industries. Those who enroll in a vocational program see that rate double to more than 60%, he said. “Understanding how your role in a food job plays into the overall company’s ability to be sustainable.”The program will begin Jan. 1 2022 and run for three years.

SAGINAW, MI — Nearly two years ago, an inmate at the Saginaw Correctional Facility allegedly launched a brutal attack on a fellow prisoner, repeatedly stabbing him with a makeshift shank. Saginaw County Sheriff William L. Federspiel said the two inmates are being housed separately and will have no contact with one another. Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Blair N. Stevenson said McBroom was lucky to have survived the assault. Gautz lauded the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office for issuing charges in the case, saying such a thing isn’t common. Other county prosecutors will take just about anything.

The Department of Corrections says COVID-19 is slowing down a program intended to address a key problem for people leaving prison: getting an ID.

Five MDOC employees and 140 prisoners have died in connection with COVID-19. “There has been an uptick in positive tests by staff... which parallels what we are seeing in Michigan in general,” said Byron Osborn, president of the Michigan Corrections Organization, the union that represents MDOC employees. “All employees are subject to daily screening and if a facility has any positive test employees or prisoners, then everyone is subject to weekly testing. On Dec. 1, MDOC was reporting 5,331 active inmate cases. Prisoners are hiding coronavirus symptomsCorrectional officers protest working conditionsCoronavirus variant found in Ionia prisonMichigan administers more than 1.5M doses of COVID-19 vaccine

Daily Covid-19 Minute: Largest Antibody StudyA major challenge of the pandemic has been determining how many people have been infected with Covid-19. However, thanks to a new study we’re getting a clear sense of how far reaching the virus has been. Researchers at Emory University conducted a national antibody study which was the largest of its kind. By comparison, we were officially reporting just over 9 million infections at the end of October, a drastically lower estimation. That means around 80% of the population needs to have either been vaccinated fully or infected with the virus.

JACKSON, MI – A transgender woman imprisoned at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson is suing the state prison system after allegedly being raped and sexually violated twice at the all-male facility in early 2020. The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed by Congress in 2003 to acknowledge and address sexual abuse of prisoners. Corrections staff ignored the plaintiff’s objections and threatened disciplinary segregation if she did not enter her cell, the lawsuit states. The plaintiff reported the incident in the morning and was taken to the prison hospital for treatment. She was moved to a new cell with a different cellmate who, like her first cellmate, was a convicted sex offender, the lawsuit states.

MARQUETTE, MI -- Michigan State Police are investigating a pair of stabbings that have occurred in the last week at the Marquette Branch Prison. According to WLUC 6, both stabbings have involved inmates attacking staff members of the prison and both attacks have led to the staff member needing treatment at a hospital. On Wednesday, a male counselor was suffered minor injuries after being attacked by an inmate who was actually in his cell. That attacked just a few days after a female guard was stabbed and punched by a male inmate while she was releasing the prisoners to the yard. Gautz said the MDOC is concerned about what these attacks mean to staff and that he understands staff should not have to expect these sorts of attacks from the inmates.

MARQUETTE, MI -- A female prison officer at Marquette Branch Prison was hospitalized over the weekend following an attack by a male inmate in which he stabbed and assaulted the officer. According to WLUC 6, the guard was attacked Saturday around 4 p.m. as she was releasing the inmates to the yard on the maximum security prison. The officer defended herself and other guards jumped in to get the inmate away from the officer, according to Michigan Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz. “We are thankful to hear the officer is doing well and also thankful for the actions of the officers who assisted,” Gautz said. defense attorney charged with kidnapping, assaulting 15-year-old girlMichigan State Police nab driver doing 155 mph in 55 mph zone

BARAGA, MI – Two corrections officers were injured in an attack by a maximum security prisoner at an Upper Peninsula facility on Wednesday, WLUC reports. A maximum security prisoner used a weapon to attack a corrections officer from behind. The injured officer was able to restrain the prisoner with the help of a second officer who was also injured during the incident. Following the incident, prisoners were locked down and the injured officers to transported to a local hospital for treatment, the report said. Authorities have not disclosed the nature of the weapon used in the attack.

BAY CITY, MI — A Bay City man is facing a life offense for allegedly robbing a pharmacy in broad daylight. The most serious charge, armed robbery, is punishable by up to life in prison. The robber told staff he had a weapon on him, though he did not brandish one, said Bay City Public Safety Capt. Officers searched Bleicher’s vehicle and found a large knife and the stolen medication in Bleicher’s car, Webster said. Read more:Man arrested after armed robbery of a Bay City pharmacySaginaw man who fled to North Carolina told half-sister he killed his best friendPolice respond to gunshots fired in Bay City’s South End

ADRIAN — A double murder suspect accused of gunning down two men convicted of sexually assaulting children has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination to determine if he is competent to stand trial. In a brief hearing, the motion to seek the psychiatric examination was made by Carden’s attorney, public defender Salvatore Molaro Jr., without objection by Lenawee County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Angie Borders. Carden will remain in the Lenawee County Jail in lieu of a $10 million bond while awaiting his evaluation. After the double murder, Carden reportedly went to a house in Morenci to target a third child predator. He apparently decided against violence at the Morenci house because other people were nearby.

LAPEER, MI -- A Black corrections officer has sued the Michigan Department of Corrections, alleging he was discriminated against because of his race at its Lapeer facility. Shumpert, of Grand Blanc, began his employment at the Michigan Department of Corrections in September of 2002 and “throughout his employment performed his job well,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit states that the Michigan Department of Corrections violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, in part, prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. • Disparate treatment in days off, meal times and other privileges and rights of employment as compared to employees who are not Black or who have not made complaints of race discrimination. “The amount of controversy exceeds $75,000, exclusive of interest, costs and attorney fees,” the lawsuit states.

TITTABAWASSEE TWP, MI — A state prison located in Saginaw County is in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak, with more than half of the inmates there testing positive. Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz said that as of Monday, Jan. 11, there are 774 inmates at Saginaw Correctional Facility who are positive for coronavirus. COVID-19 cases did not start spiking there until the late fall, Gautz said. “Staff at Saginaw are still working around the clock to ensure the safety of all prisoners and staff,” Gautz said. While Gautz has said as many as 10,000 inmates fall under this, the remaining inmates fall under Phase 2 of the MDHHS plan, which is a mass vaccination campaign for all individuals 16 and older.

TITTABAWASSEE TWP, MI — An altercation involving inmates at a state prison in Saginaw County led to a dozen or so prisoners refusing to return to their cells for several hours. “The instigator in the initial assault led several other prisoners to assault a handful of other prisoners and then encouraged the rest of the prisoners out of their cells to disobey staff commands to return to their cells,” Gautz said. A little less than three hours later, the 12 to 15 prisoners involved agreed to return to be locked up again, Gautz said. No outside law enforcement agencies were called in to assist with the incident, Gautz said. MDOC personnel are investigating the incident, Gautz said.

Most of the 35,000 prisoners with the Michigan Department of Corrections are now eligible for $1,200 stimulus checks after a federal court ruled the government can’t withhold the funds from people just because they’re in prison. MDOC sent information to all inmates on Thursday, Oct. 15 on how to access the funds, MDOC spokesman Chris Gautz said. An estimated 150 million Americans received stimulus checks from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act earlier this year. The Internal Revenue Service originally included checks for prisoners until the IRS reversed its stance in May and demanded the money back from those who already received it. “We recommend the use of paper claims, signed by the claimant, as the safest course of action where possible.”

MARQUETTE, MI – An Upper Peninsula prison is short-staffed amid an outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus that has 79 staying home while 158 inmates have tested positive. Staff who didn’t wear their mask or didn’t practice social distancing while around those who have tested positive are off work right now. The MBP outbreak is isolated to its level V side and staff who work there are gearing up in full PPE, Gautz said in the report. Staff is assigned to either level I or level V to keep the virus from spreading to level I. They are using a disposable meal service supplies in level V and inmate movement is being modified to reduce spread.

WHITMORE LAKE, Mich. Robert Bashara, a former Rotary Club president in suburban Detroit who was convicted of arranging his wifes murder, has died, more than five years after he was sentenced to life in prison, the Corrections Department said Tuesday. Bashara, 62, died Monday at a hospital, said spokesman Chris Gautz, who declined to offer additional details. Bashara, known as Master Bob, was accused of hiring a handyman to kill Jane Bashara so he could devote more time to cavorting with other women who shared his desire for sexual bondage and domination. Jane Bashara was strangled in their garage in Grosse Pointe Park in 2012. Timeline: Jane Bashara murder case

(CNN) A Michigan inmate who spent 44 years in prison died from Covid-19 just weeks before he was to be released on parole, the states department of corrections said. With the outbreak of coronavirus, the department again offered parole to Garrison three weeks ago, Gautz said. The department asked the prosecutors office to waive the mandatory 28-day waiting period, but Garrison died five days later, on April 13, before the prosecutors office responded. Garrison hadnt complained of being ill until just before he died, and no one knew he had Covid-19 when he died, according to Gautz. No decision had been made by the prosecutors office at the time of his death, Miller said.

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DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) Cases of Covid-19 in Michigan is growing at an alarming rate. Many have asked about the prison population in the state and how they are dealing with the pandemic. Right now in Michigan, weve got over 200 prisoners test positive out of a population of about 38,000 and out of about 13,000 employees, we have had more than a hundred test positive, said Spokesman for Michigan Department of Corrections Chris Gautz. Now that the virus is present in the prison, anyone, including staff entering the buildings is screen and have their temperature taken. Gautz says these facilities have a specialized unit, designed to care for inmates that are positive and keep them separate from the main prison population.

GOP lawmakers say their plan could prevent a gasoline tax increase and would spend a record amount on infrastructure. Spokesman Chris Gautz warned of cuts to inmate education programs and prisoner health care, along with 75 layoffs. It also couldn't fill prison guard vacancies or open a vocational village at Michigan's only women's prison, he said. BUSINESS INCENTIVESThe Michigan Economic Development Corp. would have to reduce its business attraction and community revitalization incentives by $26 million, or 25%. I don't think we should be spending more tomorrow on things that would cost less today."

Workers at the Ionia Correctional Facility blocked inmate access to five stories this year concerning criminal proceedings against a probation officer. (WDIV)LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Corrections is examining how its mail policy is applied after officers at one prison prevented inmates from reading some stories published by the Lansing State Journal. Workers at the Ionia Correctional Facility blocked inmate access to five stories this year concerning criminal proceedings against a probation officer, prisoners' parole and re-sentencing hearings and a lawsuit filed by state prisoners. The Journal reports the Michigan Press Association has questioned why most of the blocked stories were considered unfit for prisoners' eyes. Department spokesman Chris Gautz says the mail policy is designed to keep prisons safe and MDOC workers' lives private.