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So what happens to the kids in jail?

Anonymous on August 9, 2012 - 2:49pm

Henry Hill didn't shoot anyone. When he was just sixteen, he was with a group of boys when a fight broke out and a boy was shot to death. Even though Henry had run away when the fight broke out, he was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole. He has now served nearly 30 years in prison.

Sentencing schemes like Michigan's that refuse even the possibility of parole to children ignores the enormous capacity for change and rehabilitation in young offenders.

Original Author: 
A

College Students: Raise Your Voice at the Ballot Box

Anonymous on August 7, 2012 - 3:15pm

The following is a guest blog, written by Ann Finkel. Ann is interning at Progress Michigan this summer.

Original Author: 
J

Criticism Grows As Check Cashers Expand Services in Poorer Areas

Anonymous on August 7, 2012 - 2:59pm

Behind bulletproof glass, a smiling teller at a Rite Check store in the South Bronx waited patiently for customers to hand over their checks. For every $100 cashed, she collected a $1.91 service fee.

Original Author: 
R

More to Explore than Pasties: U.P. Member Visits

Anonymous on August 7, 2012 - 12:43pm

by Lisa Benck, Communications & Training Associate

Original Author: 
C

Voters Denied Ballots Over Johnson’s Citizenship Checkbox

Anonymous on August 7, 2012 - 12:01pm

The Progress Michigan office has already received reports of some voters being denied ballots in today's primary election, after refusing to fill out the citizenship checkbox that was unilaterally implemented by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson.As expected, there is confusion with voters and election officials over the U.S. citizen checkbox requirement following Governor Snyder's recent veto of voter suppression legislation.

Original Author: 
Z

One Giant Step for Michigan: Indigent Defense Reform is Around the Corner

Anonymous on August 6, 2012 - 4:14pm

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Tanya Greene

During the many years I practiced as a criminal defense attorney, I filed more pleadings requesting additional resources to investigate facts, more funding to support research into mitigating factors in my clients’ cases, and more time to properly prepare my case than I ever thought I would, or should have to.

Original Author: 
A

NPR: How America's Losing The War On Poverty

Anonymous on August 4, 2012 - 6:08pm

While President Obama and Gov. Romney battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class this election season, there's a huge swath of Americans that are largely ignored. It's the poor, and their ranks are growing.According to a recent survey by The Associated Press, the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line will reach its highest point since President Johnson made his famous declaration of war on poverty in 1964.Close to 16 percent of Americans now live at or below the poverty line. For a family of four, that's 23,000 a year.

Original Author: 
R

Trans4M’ing Our Communities across Michigan through Transportation Reform

Anonymous on August 3, 2012 - 9:17am

By Brian McGrain, Associate Director/Chief Operating Officer for CEDAM

Original Author: 
C

Homeless Camps in West Michigan

Anonymous on August 2, 2012 - 4:56pm

It's not the nicest home at "North Camp" -- a settlement of homeless shanties that has grown in recent years. That honor goes to Cookie's place, just down the way. But Gary Owczarzak and Cookie still live on the same side of the tracks. "He's got a mailbox down there," said Gary Owczarzak, a resident of this homeless camp in the city of Walker. He's pointing down the railroad tracks, toward the home of a homeless man known as Cookie. 

Original Author: 
R