Humanity for Prisoners

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Grand Haven, MI
Humanity for Prisoners

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Humanity for Prisoners works one-on-one to assist those who are incarcerated in Michigan's prisons. Contact us by phone at: (616) 935-0075.
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Mission:
With compassion for those who have nowhere else to turn,
Humanity for Prisoners (HFP) provides personalized problem-solving services for
people in prison. Vision:
Every person in prison knows they matter. Values:
● Humanity
● Responsiveness
● Empathy
● Responsibility
● Justice
● Hope

10/27/2026

72 deaths in 6 months. Michigan families have waited long enough for stronger prison oversight.

The Michigan Department of Corrections' September 2026 Prisoner Mortality Report reveals a troubling reality: 72 people died in Michigan prisons between February 5 and August 3, 2026, an average of nearly three deaths every week.

The details in the six-month report are alarming:

• 5 confirmed overdose deaths from synthetic cannabinoids at Bellamy Creek, St. Louis, Brooks, and Lakeland Correctional Facilities.

• 3 deaths by hanging or ligature strangulation within a single 48-hour period in late March.

• 1 death from blunt head and neck trauma at Macomb Correctional Facility.

• 40 deaths still listed as "Pending Medical Examiner Review," leaving families waiting months for answers after the death of a loved one.

Behind every statistic is a human life and a family looking for answers.

Transparency and accountability matter.

That is why Humanity for Prisoners submitted official written testimony supporting House Bills 5920 and 5921, which recently passed the Michigan House with overwhelming bipartisan support. These bills would strengthen independent oversight by:

• Expanding who can file complaints with the Legislative Corrections Ombudsman to include family members, prisoner advocates, and corrections employees.

• Requiring monthly public data reporting and detailed annual reports on complaints, medical treatment issues, and racial discrimination.

• Requiring the MDOC to respond to Ombudsman recommendations and findings within 30 days.

Take two minutes today to join our coalition partners at Citizens for Prison Reform in urging Governor Gretchen Whitmer to publicly support HB 5920 and HB 5921 and help move them into law at:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/what-are-we-waiting-for-strengthen-michigan-prison-oversight

10/25/2026

Just after midnight on October 25, 2004, Maurice Henry Carter died at age 60 after spending 29 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and only three months as a free man.

Doug Tjapkes first met Maurice during a prison visit at Coldwater in the mid-1990s. What began as a visit grew into a deep friendship that would eventually inspire the founding of Humanity for Prisoners.

Maurice entered prison forgotten by many. But decades later, he left behind countless people who loved him and were grateful to have known him. In the hospital, his final words to Doug were simple:

"I love you."

Tonight, at the hour of his passing 22 years ago, we remember Maurice, the friendship that changed Doug's life, and the legacy that continues through Humanity for Prisoners' work every day.

Read Doug's reflection on Maurice here: https://humanityforprisoners.blogspot.com/2026/10/what-friendship-what-gift-from-god.html

10/24/2026

Swipe through the cards below to see what "life without parole" really means in practice.

Did you know that a person sentenced to life without parole can spend decades doing deep, transformative work without ever being allowed to appear before a review board? In reality, it functions as the death penalty in slow motion.

Accountability is real and necessary, but permanently extinguishing hope is not justice.

Join us today, October 24, for the inaugural National Life Without Parole Awareness Day alongside Drop LWOP New England and allied organizations across the country.

Join the movement to restore the right to hope. Add your voice and stand with us today:
https://www.droplwopnewengland.org/national-lwop-awareness-day

10/23/2026

Every year on October 2, the world observes International Wrongful Conviction Day, a time to recognize the systemic failures that can put innocent people behind bars and to honor the individuals and families who have endured these profound injustices.

So why are we posting about it on October 23, more than three weeks later?

Because while the calendar may set aside a single day for awareness, the reality of surviving a wrongful conviction doesn't end when that day is over. For many people, the fight to prove their innocence, rebuild their lives, and recover from the damage caused by a wrongful conviction is a daily struggle.

We celebrate exonerations, and rightly so. But we don't often talk about what comes next. Freedom does not erase the years that were lost. Many exonerees leave prison carrying deep emotional scars, trying to rebuild relationships, reconnect with family, secure housing and employment, and navigate a world that moved on without them.

Families are affected too. They often spend years enduring emotional strain, financial hardship, and the uncertainty that comes with fighting for a loved one's freedom.

The impact of a wrongful conviction does not end when someone walks out of prison. Its effects can last for years, and sometimes a lifetime.

At Humanity for Prisoners, we recognize and applaud the organizations, advocates, attorneys, investigators, family members, and exonerees who continue this work every day. We stand with those still seeking justice, those working to uncover the truth, and those rebuilding their lives after finally coming home.

Thank you to the many organizations in Michigan and across the country that continue this important work, including the Cooley Law School Innocence Project, the University of Michigan Law School's Michigan Innocence Clinic, the Innocence Project, and countless attorneys, investigators, advocates, and family members advancing justice and supporting those impacted by wrongful convictions.

10/21/2026

Being cut off from your family shouldn't be part of your sentence. And corporate vendors shouldn't be allowed to monetize that separation.

Two new national studies expose what incarcerated families have known for years about prison communication policies:

1. Free phone calls make prisons safer.

According to a new Worth Rises report, making prison phone calls free has resulted in 600 million additional connections, saving families $622.5 million nationwide. But perhaps the most surprising finding was this: correctional staff in those states reported that free calls dramatically reduced facility tension and made their jobs easier.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, families remain at the mercy of for-profit vendors. As one HFP client recently wrote:

"This crummy for-profit GTL phone company arbitrarily dropped my brother's number from my list well over a month ago... I'll have double the reason to celebrate when I walk out of here: freedom from GTL and JPay!"

2. Banning physical mail doesn't stop drugs.

Facilities are increasingly banning real letters and photos, replacing them with blurry digital scans under the guise of stopping contraband. But a Prison Policy Initiative report shows the policy is failing. After Pennsylvania implemented mail scanning, positive drug tests actually tripled over the following five years.

The reality is that drugs and other illegal contraband are largely brought into prisons by staff, as illustrated by the recent arrest of 113 correctional employees in Alabama. Stripping people of the only tangible pieces of love they receive from home does nothing to address that problem and only adds to the trauma of incarceration.

A 15-minute phone call and a handwritten card from a child are lifelines, not luxuries.

Please SHARE this post if you agree that no family should have to choose between buying groceries and hearing their loved one's voice.

10/20/2026

In 2004, Maurice Carter walked out of a Michigan prison after serving nearly 29 years for a crime he did not commit. He had just three months to live.

His best friend, Humanity for Prisoners Founder Doug Tjapkes, made a promise: "We will officially clear your name."

Maurice's decade-long fight for freedom inspired the founding of Humanity for Prisoners. Over the last 25 years, our organization has touched the lives of nearly half of Michigan's prison population. Yet the man whose case helped spark this movement has still not been formally exonerated.

On November 11, Doug will celebrate his 90th birthday. For decades, he has worked to fulfill the promise he made to his best friend. But the deadline before us is larger than any birthday. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is serving her final term in office.

A formal posthumous pardon application is now before the Governor. Supported by national legal experts, Chief Judge Gary Giguere Jr., and a unanimous resolution of the HFP Board of Directors, the application presents the evidence supporting Maurice's innocence and the case for a posthumous pardon.

We are asking Michigan to correct a decades-old injustice and grant this pardon before the Governor's term concludes.

Here's how you can help:

1️⃣ TAG Governor Gretchen Whitmer in the comments below.

2️⃣ SIGN THE PETITION launched by Wronged! filmmaker Nate Roels at https://www.change.org/p/grant-maurice-carter-a-posthumous-pardon-for-wrongful-conviction-in-michigan

3️⃣ SHARE this post so more people learn Maurice's story.

It is time to give Maurice Carter the justice he was denied for far too long.

10/19/2026

TODAY IS THE DEADLINE: You CAN vote with a criminal record in Michigan.
We still hear from many people who believe a criminal record means they can't vote. In Michigan, that's simply not true.

If you have been released from prison, your voting rights have been restored.
That means:

• If you're on probation, you can vote.
• If you're on parole, you can vote.
• If you still owe court fines, fees, or restitution, you can vote.
• If you're being held in a county jail awaiting trial, you can vote.

The only people who cannot vote in Michigan are those currently serving a sentence in a prison or jail.

Today, October 19, is the deadline to register to vote online or by mail.

If you miss today's deadline, you can still register and vote in person at your local city or township clerk's office beginning tomorrow and continuing through Election Day on November 3. Early in-person voting runs October 25 through November 1.

Far too many returning citizens do not realize they are eligible to vote. If you know someone who has questions about their voting rights, please share this information.

Check your voter registration status or register online before midnight tonight at michigan.gov/vote.

10/17/2026

Imagine giving birth in a hospital bed while two state corrections officers, including a man, stand over you with their chest-mounted body cameras rolling.

According to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by former Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV) prisoner Natalie Forrest and first reported by Detroit Free Press journalist Paul Egan, that is what happened during her active labor, intimate medical exams, and the first moments she breastfed her newborn son.

The lawsuit alleges that the cameras continued recording even after prison leadership had been warned in writing that filming unclothed women could violate Michigan law. The lawsuit further alleges that while officers recorded Forrest's delivery, her mother was threatened with two additional years of prison time for her daughter if she dared take a photograph of her newborn grandson.

At Humanity for Prisoners, we've been hearing from women at WHV for decades. Some members of our team spent decades inside Michigan prisons themselves. We know how these institutions operate when nobody is watching. We also know how difficult it can be for incarcerated people to speak up when they fear retaliation.

As our founder Doug Tjapkes recently noted in his commentary on conditions at WHV, what allegedly occurred in that hospital room is part of a pattern that has generated repeated lawsuits, investigations, and public concern:

• Twenty anonymous women filed a $500 million lawsuit alleging that corrections officers used body cameras to record hundreds of strip searches, showers, and restroom encounters.

• A corrections officer was criminally charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct involving incarcerated women.

• Persistent concerns about healthcare delays and medical treatment have followed a series of deaths at the facility.

• Women have sought emergency court intervention over reported toxic black mold exposure and related health concerns.

As Doug recently recalled, whistleblowers inside WHV once sent desperate complaints to HFP on tiny folded scraps of paper. Doug reported that HFP shared those complaints with the ACLU of Michigan, helping draw attention to conditions that ultimately led to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the facility years ago.

Frankly, we find it repugnant that allegations like these continue to emerge from a prison that has already been the subject of lawsuits, investigations, media scrutiny, and public concern. Michigan residents have every right to ask why the same facility keeps appearing in the headlines for the same kinds of problems.

Yet a decade later, the culture of abuse at WHV has not ended. Despite years of lawsuits, investigations, and public scrutiny, the allegations continue, expanding from longstanding allegations of physical mistreatment to include new forms of high-tech digital intrusion and privacy violations.

Our position at HFP remains simple: prison is the punishment. The loss of freedom is the sentence. Nowhere in Michigan law does a prison sentence include being filmed during childbirth, breathing toxic mold, or suffering because serious medical needs go untreated.

As one woman currently incarcerated at WHV recently wrote to our office:

"Many of our voices are being silenced due to fear. Just because we did wrong, does not mean we deserve to be treated this way!"

How many more lawsuits, medical tragedies, and shameful headlines will it take before Lansing demands meaningful accountability?

Nearly 2,000 women incarcerated at WHV are waiting for
Michigan to finally say: Enough is enough.

For those interested in reviewing the reporting and source materials, links are provided in the comments below.

10/15/2026

At Humanity for Prisoners, we often speak with men and women who are still dealing with the consequences of a criminal record years after they've paid their debt to society. For many, a record can continue to create barriers to employment, housing, and other opportunities.

If you're in the Ann Arbor area and think you may be eligible for expungement, the Washtenaw County Expungement Fair is being held this Saturday, October 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Learning Resource Center, 4135 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48108.

Free services will include ICHAT background checks, fingerprinting, eligibility screenings, and assistance with preparing expungement applications.

Registration is recommended. See the flyer for registration information and eligibility requirements, or call 734-217-4958 with questions.

Thank you to Safe & Just Michigan, Legal Services of South Central Michigan, the State of Michigan Attorney General Department, and the many local partners helping make this event available.

Please share this post with anyone who may benefit.

Address

Grand Haven, MI
49417

Telephone

+16169350075

Website

http://humanityforprisoners.org/

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