MDOC

A man who beat his wife and sexually abused his daughter when she was just 3 years old has their information after his parole officer shared it with him.

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.

The Michigan attorney general’s office said it found no new evidence to support a claim of innocence by a man who was convicted of committing murder in 1986 in a Port Huron college parking lot.

A Michigan inmate who isn’t being considered for parole because he failed to complete a required sex offender program in prison sent a letter to his sentencing judge, using expletives in place of her name and vowing to get revenge, authorities said.

A man who was 17 when he was convicted in the fatal 1981 shooting of a taxi driver in Flint is seeking parole with the help of a group that works to free adolescent offenders who have spent decades in prison.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) made a large find during a raid in Dearborn Heights.

Trial is underway in a long-running lawsuit that accuses the Michigan prison system of illegally discriminating against male officers at the state’s only prison for women.

Almost two years later, a federal investigation into the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) reached an agreement regarding the religious practices of prisoners on Thursday, Nov. 4. The U.S. Department of Justice investigation and agreement addressed MDOC’s policy of a five-person minimum for group worship and religious activities; its policy of prohibiting group religious practice for certain religious groups— Hindu, Yoruba, Hebrew Israelite and Thelema practitioners; and its restrictions limiting access to kosher meals for the Passover holiday for those not on the kosher diet year-round.

Officials say an inmate at a western Michigan prison was attacked and killed over the weekend by two other inmates.

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.

click to enlarge MDOCTemujin Kensu in 1985, left, and today. But supporters remain hopeful because Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's newly created Conviction Integrity Unit is considering an application from Kensu. "This is where our confidence lies," David Sanders of the Royal Oak-based Proving Innocence project told the paper. "We fully trust that the CIU's independent review will reveal without a doubt that a great injustice was done to Temujin. "Our hope is that that the attorney general will present the facts from this comprehensive investigation to the governor and she will do the right thing and finally free a man so terribly wronged.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts today concluded an investigation into conditions at the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MDOC). The Justice Department concluded that there is reason to believe that the conditions violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. As a result of these failures and conditions, prisoners in mental health crisis have engaged in self-harm and have died or seriously injured themselves while on mental health watch. The department also conducted tours of prison facilities and conducted interviews of administrative staff, security staff, mental health staff, and hundreds of prisoners. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.

The imprisoned father of three Michigan boys who went missing in 2010 was reportedly denied parole. John Skelton was charged in 2011 for the wrongful imprisonment of his three sons who went missing from their home in Morenci on Nov. 26, 2010. Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton were 9, 7 and 5 years old, respectively, when they went missing nearly 10 years ago. A group has never been identified or come forward, and John Skelton’s story has changed since his initial claim. According to the family, John Skelton came up for a parole review in July but was denied.

KINCHELOE, Mich. – Inmates at the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have taken control of a unit. Officers used a taser on an inmate involved. When that inmate was being taken away in an ambulance, other prisoners left their cells and forced the officers out. They then took control of the unit in the prison, not letting anyone else inside. Additional authorities are helping in the efforts to take control of the situation.

DETROIT – Almost half of the men incarcerated at a western Michigan prison have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), according to a newspaper report. Roughly 47%, or 612 of 1,296 prisoners at Muskegon Correctional Facility, have tested positive as of last Thursday, according to the Detroit Free Press. Since March, 4,620 of 37,497 state prisoners have tested positive and 68 prisoners have died. We have conducted multiple rounds of testing at Muskegon, including testing prisoners who previously tested negative yesterday. We have also offered multiple rounds of testing to staff with additional staff testing next week.

Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Saturday that will require coronavirus (COVID-19) testing protocols for Michigan Department of Corrections facilities. The order is effective immediately for jails that have not resumed inmate transfers. Jails that continued transfers under the previous version of the order have until Sept. 8 to comply. By reducing the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and jails, we protect corrections officers and their families, incarcerated people, and the whole community, Whitmer said. The Michigan Department of Corrections has been a leader for states across the country in COVID-19 response.

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.

The release of federal prisoners due to COVID-19 is a controversial topic. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566.

Federal prisoners are asking for early release and some local high-profile prisoners want out. Fata pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 years, but because of coronavirus, he wants to be released early. Thats what happened to many of Fatas victims.Parkin wants Fata to serve every single day of his 45-year sentence. He took an oath, broke the oath, he has no remorse, Parkin said. Parkin hopes the court remembers the 533 patients like her husband who were overtreated and or misdiagnosed when they think of granting Fata early release.

DETROIT – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is seeking victims of prisoners who will soon be paroled so they can be properly notified. According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, MDOC began sending letters to the office early last month about paroling prisoners because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In any given month, MDOC paroles just under 700 prisoners a month. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s over 700 and closer to 800. READ: Hundreds of inmates released from Metro Detroit county jailsAt the county jails in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, officials have been reviewing the cases of inmates who would not be a danger to the public if released.

Wayne County prosecutor seeks victims of inmates who will soon be released from prisonPublished: May 5, 2020, 11:12 pmWayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is seeking victims of prisoners who will soon be paroled so they can be properly notified.

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.

DETROIT – A transportation officer with the Michigan Department of Corrections died after contracting coronavrius (COVID-19), officials said Wednesday. MORE: What the CDC says you should do if you believe you have coronavirus (COVID-19)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. Prevention & TreatmentThere is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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.

Shelley Griffith, 29, a former Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) officer, was sentenced today in Jackson, Mississippi, by Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan II of the Southern District of Mississippi to serve 70 months in prison for her role in assaulting an inmate at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Rankin County, Mississippi. Griffith pled guilty on Dec. 14, 2017, to violating the civil rights of an inmate by using excessive force against him. This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Department of Justice, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. At the time of the incident, Griffith was working as a corrections officer at CMCF in Rankin County, Mississippi. This case was investigated by the FBIs Jackson, Mississippi, Field Office.