Legislature approves medical parole bills
LANSING (AP) — Legislation designed to ease Michigan's ability to parole medically frail inmates is nearing final approval.
The Senate on Thursday passed bills that earlier cleared the House, meaning they will go to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk.
The bills would enable some prisoners with severe and chronic physical or mental disabilities to finish their sentences at a medical facility rather than a prison, if approved by the parole board.
Lawmakers say the legislation would save the state money because the federal government covers a portion of Medicaid costs to treat inmates housed outside prison walls.
About 20 to 30 prisoners could be eligible for medical parole under the bills. There are, however, another 450 to 500 inmates who could become eligible in the future based on their chronic care needs.
Court says no cash for man who spent years in prison
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a Kent County man who spent nearly nine years in prison before winning an acquittal in a sexual assault case doesn’t qualify for compensation for the wrongly convicted.
The court said Dennis Tomasik got a second trial only because the state Supreme Court said a police recording was improperly admitted at the first trial. It’s not the same as having a conviction reversed on new evidence. the court said.
Tomasik was acquitted at a second trial after jurors listened to new witnesses and saw many new exhibits. He said that should qualify him for the state’s compensation program, which grants $50,000 for every year spent in prison.
The recent 3-0 opinion sets a key precedent for how the Court of Claims will review claims for compensation by people who say they were wrongly convicted.
Town says it is a ‘Second Amendment sanctuary’
BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island town has declared itself a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”
The Burrillville Town Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday stating it supports the police department’s right to exercise sound discretion when enforcing Second Amendment-related laws.
Councilman Jeremy Bailey told WJAR-TV that “Should a law come down that we deem unconstitutional, we don’t intend to enforce those laws.”
The resolution also says Burrillville will not pay to store guns seized by police because of possible future legislation banning certain firearms.
“We're thumbing our nose at the federal government,” Resolution sponsor Donald Fox told The Providence Journal.
Linda Finn, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, called the move “disturbing.”
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