A lawsuit alleging that the Michigan Department of Corrections instructed guards to use body cameras during routine strip searches at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Washtenaw County has been dismissed by a judge.

A lawsuit was filed, alleging that the Michigan Department of Corrections instructed guards to use body cameras during routine strip searches at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Washtenaw County.

A jury has ruled in favor of the state Corrections Department in a trial about work opportunities for male officers at Michigan’s only prison for women.

LANSING, Mich. – Visitors will be allowed at Michigan prisons for the first time in a year, the Corrections Department said Friday. Physical contact between prisoners and visitors will be prohibited. “Connections with family and the community lead to greater offender success," department Director Heidi Washington said. More than 25,000 prisoners have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic; 139 have died. There were 788 active cases Wednesday, the Corrections Department said, including 615 at Bellamy Creek in Ionia and Egeler in Jackson.

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Corrections said it has tested every prisoner in its system for coronavirus (COVID-19). The department had been testing symptomatic prisoners since late March and has done more than 1,000 tests. In mid-April the MDOC started mass testing in several facilities to slow the spread of coronavirus. “We simply could not have achieved this goal, this quickly without the assistance of the Michigan National Guard,” Washington said. “This was an incredible display of partnership, and we are proud to work alongside the professionals in the Michigan Department of Corrections,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, Adjutant General and Director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

LANSING, Mich. – Medical specialists from the Michigan National Guard are assisting Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) staff with COVID-19 testing at correctional facilities. May 2, 2020: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 43,207; Death toll now at 4,020 with 15,659 recoveries reportedBeginning Monday, soldiers will administer COVID-19 tests throughout facilities in the upper peninsula. Testing will begin at the Baraga Correctional Facility and will continue east to Alger Correctional Facility, Marquette Branch Prison, Newberry Correctional Facility, Chippewa Correctional Facility and Kinross Correctional Facility, officials said. “We are very grateful for the support from the National Guard in this effort to continue our testing of prisoners across the state,” said MDOC Director Heidi Washington. Samples collected at the facilities will be transported by MDOC to a lab for testing, officials said.

JACKSON, Mich. – A probation agent with the Michigan Department of Corrections office in Jackson has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), officials announced Tuesday. How COVID-19 SpreadsPerson-to-person spreadThe virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. How easily the virus spreadsHow easily a virus spreads from person-to-person can vary. Some viruses are highly contagious (spread easily), like measles, while other viruses do not spread as easily. MORE: Beaumont Health launches coronavirus hotline for patients with symptomsPeople who think they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should contact their healthcare provider immediately.

The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has banned all in-person visitations at state prisons amid the state’s rapidly increasing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. “This was not a decision we arrived at lightly, as we understand and recognize the importance of family contact with the prison population,” said MDOC Director Heidi Washington. “Our primary concern has to be public safety and reducing the number of people who enter our facilities is a key factor in limiting the potential spread of this illness into our prisoner population.”Update March 12, 2021: Michigan prisons resuming visits for first time in a yearMichigan prisons are taking measures to ensure the safety of their staff, prisoners and the public, officials said. Prisons are conducting screening questions and temperature checks on all employees before their shifts, and cleaning the facilities more frequently, according to officials. AdPrison staff and visitors can sign up for informative alerts from their facility at MDOC’s website here.

DETROIT, Mich. – A Michigan inmate who was mistakenly released after being transferred to Ohio to face drug charges is back behind bars after more than a week on the lam, prison officials said over the weekend. Talleon S. Brazil, 31, was captured at a house in Detroit on Saturday by the Michigan Department of Corrections Absconder Recovery Unit after several days of surveillance, according to a department news release. “We are glad this case came to a quick resolution,” Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington said in the release. Michigan officials handed him over to Ohio authorities on Jan. 14 to face drug charges in Scioto County on the condition that he be locked up while in Ohio, then returned to Michigan. Brazil could face new charges for trying to avoid capture following his release in Ohio, the weekend news release said.