recidivism

After serving thirty-five years of a life sentence, the only thing Leroy Harris wanted to do was teach children how to avoid making the same kinds of mistakes. But he didn't have the confidence to set his goals in motion. He later turned to occupational therapy through the Ypsilanti-based organization “Life After Incarceration: Transition & Reentry,” or LAITR (sounds like “later”). Today, Leroy is not only starting his own business to help troubled youth but also sits on LAITR's board of directors. Leroy shared his story with Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale.

As you might imagine, those who are returning to the community after a period of incarceration face a good deal of prejudice and discrimination. That makes finding a job difficult and can result in higher recidivism rates. Billy Cole and Bryan Foley are working to not only change that but are trying to de-escalate community violence by addressing trauma and other factors that lead to incarceration. Billy and Bryan head an organization called Supreme Felons, and they share their personal stories that led them to professionally try and keep people out of the cycle of incarceration with WEMU's David Fair.

Eastern Michigan University is helping some incarcerated people earn a degree while behind bars. It's an effort to reduce recidivism and help participants become productive members of society once released. WEMU's Josh Hakala and Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale talk about EMU's College in Prison program with its director, Meghan Lechner.

A drug court is coming to a Washtenaw County courthouse in the near future. Last night, the county’s Board of Commissioners voted to approve a grant to create it. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

The state Senate has approved a 20-bill criminal justice overhaul package designed to save taxpayers' money by keeping more prisoners from reoffending.…