Preparing People Reentering Communities With the Tools They Need to Succeed

This bill ensures people who have served long sentences receive effective reentry programming so that they are prepared to reenter their communities safely.

In April of 2025, the Michigan Supreme Court declared mandatory life sentences to be unconstitutional for people who were 19 or 20 years old at the time of the crime. Anyone who falls into this category will be resentenced.

Many people who have already served decades for crimes committed at 19 or 20 years old will be released. However, the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) doesn’t have the authority to provide its reentry services to them.

HB 4211 is a technical fix to existing law.

HB 4211 is a technical fix to existing law that ensures individuals who were previously sentenced to life for crimes committed in their youth have access to the resources they need for successful reentry into society.

Reentry services are critical to help people prepare for release and for the safety of Michigan communities.

Reentry programs can improve outcomes for people released after serving decades. These individuals entered prison as youth, but today they are adults. Many of them don't know how to drive, pay rent or find a job. They likely lack familiarity with many things that others depend on every day, like having a cellphone.

HB Bill 4211 would allow the department of corrections to provide safer transitions to community.

House Bill 4211 will allow the department of corrections to make the transition from prison to community safer by connecting people to support for transitional housing, vital documents (birth certificate, ID card) and available reentry services.

Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) supports House Bill 4211 and is working diligently to advance it in the legislature.