The Michigan Supreme Court has stopped a man from suing the state after he spent more than a year in prison for a crime that wasn’t a crime.
The man was behind bars for 17 months for failing to provide accurate information for Michigan’s sex offender registry. The Corrections Department then discovered that he actually wasn’t required to register.
He was sent to prison in 2014. After more than a year, a Corrections Department employee “became aware that (he) was imprisoned for a non-existent crime,” said the man’s attorney, William Goodman.
The man’s lawsuit alleged his rights were violated by a failure to properly train and supervise employees who oversee the sex offender registry. But the Michigan appeals court said there was no certainty that a person mistakenly on the list would be arrested.
Sheriff Chitwood has tested positive for COVID-19. He wants to thank all those who have wished him well.
According to a recent Newsweek article, The End of the Prison-Industrial Complex?, part of the problem is the judges who are elected by voters. “Research shows that to keep their jobs, judges are more likely to hand out harsher sentences as they approach Election Day. They get campaign donations from lawyers, lobbyists, and business interests who have a vested interest in keeping the system just the way it is. We call this corruption.” The article also alludes to the special interest groups: prosecutors, police unions, drug companies, and lobbyists, who have a hold on elected officials. The answer: American Anti-Corruption Act that would stop gifts from lobbyists to politicians, stop the revolving door between Congress and the prison industry, and give all adults the right to vote. Desmond Meade is an important name to remember.
Check out American Anti-Corruption Act championed by RepresentUs with Desmond Meade sitting on the board. The Anti-Corruption Act would ban gifts from lobbyists to politicians, close the revolving door between Congress and the prison industry, and enfranchise even more voters — so politicians actually represent we, the people. I have been unable to find out if Desmond Meade is now including registrants.
Do we know whether OffenderWatch, the registry contractor, donates to the campaigns of sheriffs and state legislators? If so, I would support a way to limit those and end the registry-industrial complex.
I do not know, but I would sure like to know.
As much of a total crock as this ruling is, are the judge’s and justices’ hands tied because the state’s legislators, WHOM THE PEOPLE ELECTED, chose not to provide a legislative remedy for those who are wrongfully convicted and incarcerated? This could be evidence that compensation for the wrongfully convicted and imprisoned is not a priority of most people because it hasn’t ever happened to most people. It’s sad, but we tend to be very indifferent to an issue so long as it’s someone else’s problem.
Think about this: How many times have we decried what we consider to be cases of judicial activism and cried “LEGISLATING FROM THE BENCH!!!”. Even though it would have been in “our” favor, would it not have been legislating from the bench to provide relief when there’s no law that permits said relief? That’s the real injustice here. There’s no state law that mandates relief for those wrongfully prosecuted and imprisoned, or in this case have the debilitating stigma of wrongful listing on the state’s sex offender registry, which is undeniably the worst form of character assassination.
So true- too often we castigate judges for saying what the law is.
And “legislating from the bench” is not even an issue. Registrants have precisely the opposite problem— they are judged by the legislature.
Goes to show this country and those who are in charge, are both garbage.
F****** unbelievable!!! 😠
But I am sure that we Registrants are not included in this wonderful new “Reform the criminal justice system” movement! 😠😠😠
I have heard some sleazy bureaucratic excuses and this certainly ranks way up there. Miss registering on time and a ‘sorry’ will get you nowhere. Send a guy to prison for a bureaucratic mistake and all you get is an excuse. No wonder we see what’s going on in this country. The criminals are the ones in charge of the prison system.
not a shock at all. Further evidence that the only way to correct the corruption is to overthrow the current corruption. trying to “vote” your way around it is just a sheep and two wolves voting for dinner..stop being the sheep.
Pardon my confusion of the article but it reads like the justices who denied his lawsuit are also saying that what happened to him was wrong. Speaking out of both sides of their mouths?? I don’t get it.
Be sure to read Chief Justice’s withering dissent. Hope he continues w/ the other lawsuits.
That’s the biggest bunch of bulls**t I have ever heard. The government makes up laws and rules as they go, imprison a man for 17 months, finds out he is innocent, then they decide for themselves that he can’t sue them. How convenient!
Can he appeal the Supreme Court ruling? In Kansas the Supreme Court there ruled you can sue for unlawful imprisonments and even set a dollar amount on the damages to a person that is unlawfully imprisoned for something he didn’t do , or a crime that wasn’t a crime.
Damages to a person that is unlawfully imprisoned for something he didn’t do , or a crime that wasn’t a crime. Just like everything else when it comes to sex offenders…………………{EXCEPT SEX OFFENDERS]
He probably can’t contest the state Supreme Court’s decision as that court is the final arbiter of Michigan law. Of course he could bring a federal lawsuit under 42 USC 1983 for deprivation of rights under color of law. But that is a long shot as the rules definitely disfavor the plaintiff. Any such lawsuit would no doubt chew up the $70,000 he already received. It saddens me, but it may be best if he just licked his wounds and moved on.
Veritas.