MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

A judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against six former Michigan Department of Corrections employees in the death of an inmate in 2019.

Several Michigan Department of Corrections employees could find themselves locked up in the very system they worked for.

A former Macomb County Boy Scout leader who pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges in the ongoing Boy Scouts of America investigation has been sentenced to prison.

A bill has been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives that would restore the ability for people in prison to earn time off their sentences with good behavior.

George and Melvin DeJesus, who were released from prison this past March, are asking the court for more than $125 million after spending 25 years behind bars for a murder they didn’t commit.

The Michigan Department of Corrections has a list of its most wanted escapees.

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day.

It’s been three years since Jonathan Lancaster died behind bars, strapped to a chair and his family wants to know why more isn’t being done to hold prison staff accountable.

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 Department of Corrections has denied parole for a convicted serial killer who confessed to killing four women in the Lansing area in the 1970s.

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.

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.

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

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan has a budget in place for 2021 that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The coronavirus originally had the state making dire budget predictions that there would be a more than $1 billion hole to fill. Road funding gets the full $600 million expected and some programs, which were axed in the last budget like Pure Michigan, are being funded again. An item that is being cut at a $12 million saving is the Detroit Re-Entry Center, which does prisoner programming. The Michigan Department of Corrections is also slimming down administration for a $2.5 million saving.

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.

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.

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.

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).

LAPEER, Mich. – Officials with the Lapeer County Health Department announced Sunday an employee at Thumb Correctional Facility has tested positive for 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 and 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.

FLAT ROCK, Mich. – A Flat Rock family feels victimized and violated after a trusted neighbor was caught using a log to peer through the window of their teenagers’ bathroom, officials said. Family members said Paul Stabnick lives just down the street in their quiet subdivision. They live right next to Flat Rock Community High School and an elementary school. The father of two teenagers said he noticed a log kept showing up under his children’s bathroom window. He put up a trail camera that captured image after image of Stabnick lurking by the window, climbing up and peering inside the bathroom, according to authorities.

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.

iStock/junialA jury has awarded $11.4 million to a black couple who filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections. Attorney Jon Marko says Lisa Griffey was a probation officer who was racially harassed by white co-workers. Marko says her husband, Cedric Griffey, who was a deputy prison warden, was retaliated against because of his wife's legal challenge. A Genesee County jury found Lisa Griffey was subjected to a hostile work environment and suffered an adverse employment action because of her race. The jury on Monday said Cedric Griffey also suffered.

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.

DETROIT - Three members of the Almighty Vice Lord Nation gang were indicted in Detroit on charges related to the distribution of marijuana, heroin, cocaine and suboxone in Metro Detroit and inside the Michigan Department of Corrections. Collins was also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The Almighty Vice Lords Nation gang is divided into subgroups known as "branches" and "decks," officials said. The Unknown Vice Lords, Conservative Vice Lords, Traveling Vice Lords, Renegade Vice Lords, Insane Vice Lords, Mafia Insane Vice Lords, Imperial Insane Vice Lords, Executioner Insane Vice Lords, Cicero Insane Vice Lords and 4 Corner Hustler Vice Lords are among the subgroups, according to authorities. Using a communication facility to commit the drug conspiracy offense carries a maximum sentence of 4 years in prison.

JACKSON, Mich. - DTE Energy and the Michigan Department of Corrections are collaborating to offer a tree trim training program for prisoners to fill in-demand positions, according to a news release. The goal of the training program is to offer full-time careers, job experience and skills for citizens returning to life after prison. The companies that DTE use to trim trees have been struggling to find trained workers, according to the news release. DTE and MDOC created the program to help fight the shortage of trained workers while giving employment opportunities to those being released from prison. Prisoners released on parole who have finished the program will be eligible to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 17 Union and work with a tree trim supplier.

MICHIGAN – The Michigan Department of Corrections is trying to address concerns about stress and suicide among corrections officers. The Detroit Free Press reports that the agency's director, Heidi Washington, recently announced to a Senate committee that the department hired a licensed mental health professional to serve as its employee wellness program manager. Washington told the senators that the agency wants to increase training to manage stress and reduce the stigma associated with asking for help.