No Presumptive Parole in Senate This Year

It’s looking like the Michigan Senate won’t tackle presumptive parole legislation, allowing inmates to be released based on their minimum sentence, before the end of the year.

The legislation passed the House in early October, but will likely have a longer journey in the upper-chamber.

Senator Geoff Proos, vice chair of the Government Operations Committee, says his caucus has discussed taking a more holistic approach to corrections reform and presumptive parole could be part of that.

Proos says they want to focus on recidivism reduction, decreasing crime in communities and bringing down corrections costs.

So, he says, presumptive parole will not be looked at as a single issue, but as one of many issues related to the criminal justice system in Michigan.

Proos says a comprehensive package of criminal justice reforms could be introduced after the first of the year.