With one of the highest incarceration rates in the country and a budget that reflects it, Michigan lawmakers are considering a plan that would allow prisoners to get credits for good behavior and have their sentences reduced by as much as 15 percent. The move would end the state's decade-old Truth-in-Sentencing law, which mandates that inmates serve 100 percent of their minimum sentence. The Department of Corrections says that it could save 100 million dollars, but victim's rights advocates strongly oppose the plan. However, Penny Ryder, Co-Director of the American Friends Service Committee, says that with proper rehabilitation programs, the risk of re-offending is greatly reduced:
Ryder says that despite popular belief, violent offenders are not likely to re-offend. She says it's actually those convicted of property and drug crimes who most often return to prison:
Michigan's incarceration rate has been fifth highest in the country. During the first half of this year, three-thousand more prisoners were released from state facilities than over the same period a year ago.
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