+ Prioritize diversion and deflection

The primary goal of the criminal-justice system should be rehabilitation—and ensuring that those who committed crimes don't commit them again. Far too often, though, we shuffle the same people in and out of jail and prison, without addressing the root causes of crime. Our "jail-first" mentality is counterproductive. And ultimately, it makes us all of us less safe. In Washtenaw County, nearly 7 out of 10 people who go through the criminal-justice system will commit crimes again.

There's a better way. Often, people who are caught up in the criminal-justice system are struggling with addiction, mental-health issues, or trauma. When such people don't pose a danger to the community, it's better to "divert" or "deflect" them away from the corrections system. Instead of requiring them to sit behind bars, the justice system can connect them with resources—and require them to get the medical, psychological, or trauma-informed treatment they need.

For too long, we've been incarcerating people who are dealing with addiction or mental-health issues. Eli will make addressing the root-cause of crime the rule, not the exception, and will seek to incarcerate only those who pose a threat to the community.

+ Support problem-solving courts

Problem-solving courts give people who are struggling an alternative to prison—and a chance to turn their lives around. They provide resources to veterans, and to people suffering from mental-health challenges and addiction. And in the long run, problem-solving courts save all of us money, and make all of us safer. When people get the help that they need, they’re less likely to commit crimes in the future, eliminating the need to lock people behind bars. But in Washtenaw County, we’ve failed to establish problem-solving courts in any of our circuit courts. Eli will support the establishment of problem-solving courts, and work to ensure that people get the treatment they need.

+ Provide rehabilitation and expungement services

After people serve their criminal sentences, we need to work to make sure they are re-integrated into society. That’s not just the right thing to do—it’s the smart strategy. People with stable jobs are far less likely to turn back to crime, which makes all of us safer.

Eli is a statewide leader in the movement to help reintegrate returning citizens into society. He worked with a bipartisan group of legislators to craft landmark legislation that will expand Michigan's expungement laws—and give hundreds of thousands of Michiganders a fresh start.

Eli will bring that same focus to the Prosecutor's Office. Those who commit lower-level crimes and stay out of trouble—and are thus statutorily eligible for expungement under Michigan law—should have every an opportunity to gain a clean slate. Eli is committed to using the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to help eligible returning citizens expunge old criminal records, and to obtain gainful employment.

+ Work collaboratively with schools and community members

The Prosecuting Attorney is the “people’s attorney,” which means working on behalf of all the people in our community. Eli, a former public-school teacher, is committed to working with schools and community groups to ensure that young people are able to stay out of the criminal justice system.

+ Support and facilitate restorative justice

In many instances, our criminal-justice system simply doesn't work—either for crime survivors, or for those who are convicted of crimes. People who are convicted of crimes are often thrown in jail or prison, which is rarely rehabilitative. At the same time, survivors are forced to endure an adversarial system that can be retraumatizing, gives them no agency, and doesn't make them whole.

But there's a better way. Eli is committed to giving survivors, of all forms of crime, the option to participate in restorative justice-based programs. If—and only if—survivors opt for restorative justice, the survivor and the person who committed harm will work together with a trained mediator to reach an individualized solution for how the survivor can be made whole.

Restorative justice is a win-win-win. It is survivor-focused, and gives victims of crime agency that our traditional justice system does not. It makes us safer, and has been shown to reduce future crime. And ultimately, it mends the fabric of our community.

+ Eliminate cash bail

When people are arrested for a crime—but before they are tried—they’re often asked to buy their freedom by posting a cash bond. Those who are unable to come up with the funds are held in jail until their trial.

That means we’re holding people in jail not for what they did, but because of their ability to pay. Poorer defendants are sitting behind bars pending trial, while wealthier defendants are allowed to walk free. That’s unjust, and it places severe strain on families. What’s more, it fills our jails with people who don’t need to be there. And we all pay for that. It’s a hidden tax on county residents.

As Prosecuting Attorney, Eli will not seek cash bail. He will still seek to hold people who pose a danger to the community, or those who might skip trial. But the same standards will be applied to everyone. Under Eli’s watch, justice won’t depend on the size of one’s bank account.

+ Consider the monetary costs of incarceration

Michigan spends one-fifth of its general-fund budget locking people in prisons. Those are your tax dollars, and it’s money that could go to fix roads, fund education, or shore up our health system. The chief driver of these costs is lengthy prison sentences obtained by county prosecutors. Eli will instruct his prosecutors to consider the total monetary costs to taxpayers for every sentence they seek, ensuring that sentences are no harsher than necessary to achieve their goals.

+ Build a transparent, accountable prosecutor's office

Far too frequently, the prosecutor's office is a black box. Despite being responsible for millions of dollars in taxpayer resources, citizens rarely know what their elected prosecutor is doing—or whether the office is getting results.

That's why Eli is committed to building a transparent prosecutor's office that is accountable to the people. As prosecutor, Eli will build a web-based platform which tracks metrics like recidivism, the length of sentences obtained, expenditures of taxpayer resources, and the number of people receiving diversion opportunities. Detailed data reports will be available to researchers, the media, and the general public.

After all: when prosecutors stand up in court, they represent "the people." Shouldn't the people know what their elected prosecutor is doing?

+ End coercive plea bargaining

Although most of us think of the criminal justice system playing out at trial, the reality is that 97% of criminal charges in Washtenaw County are “settled” through a plea bargain. Plea bargaining can be a good thing—it allows people to get on with their lives, and allowing the community to avoid the expense of trial. But too frequently, prosecutors take a “hard line” in plea bargaining negotiations, and threaten to file overly harsh charges if defendants don’t agree to their terms. Eli will ensure that plea bargaining in the Prosecutor’s Office is conducted fairly.

+ Review and rectify wrongful convictions and sentences

Wrongfully convicting someone of a crime is one of the most grievous errors that can be made in the justice system. A wrongful conviction can mean that an innocent person spends years behind bars—away from their family and loved ones—for a crime they didn't commit. At the same time, when the wrong person is convicted of a crime, it means that the real perpetrator escapes accountability.

Eli is committed to reviewing and rectifying all wrongful convictions. Eli will create Washtenaw County's first-ever Conviction Integrity Unit, which will review claims of actual innocence and, if validated, will seek to undo the convictions.

But it doesn't stop there. Too many people are sitting in prison because of unduly harsh sentences secured by past prosecutions. Just as it is unjust to put people in prison for a crime they didn't commit, it is unjust to continue holding people in prison for longer than is necessary to secure public safety.

That's why Eli will charge his Conviction Integrity Unit not just with rectifying wrongful convictions, but with reviewing past sentences. Where appropriate, Eli will support the release of eligible people who do not pose a threat to the community.

+ Focus on violent offenses, sex crimes, and human trafficking

When a prosecutor’s office spends less time focusing on non-violent, victimless offenses, it frees up resources to investigate and prosecute the cases that really matter. Those include gun violence, sex crimes, and crimes that impose real costs on victims—like violent property offenses, child exploitation, and human trafficking. As Prosecuting Attorney, Eli will be steadfast in fulfilling his obligation to keep the community safe, and will allocate prosecutorial resources accordingly.

+ No special treatment for privileged defendants

Eli is committed to eliminating all vestiges of a system in which wealthy, connected defendants are able to escape consequences for their actions. Eli has spent his career locked in court battles with some of the nation's most formidable adversaries—such as banks, corporate polluters, and the opioid industry. He will not be afraid to prosecute well-heeled, well-connected people who commit domestic violence, sex crimes, or child abuse. Eli will always protect innocent victims, even when the perpetrator is wealthy or well-connected.

+ Treat victims with respect

People who have been the victims of crimes are thrust—through no choice of their own—into a traumatic, confusing criminal-justice system. It’s incumbent on the prosecutor’s office to treat victims with the respect and compassion that they deserve. The need to respect victims is particularly important for those that have survived violence or sexual assault. Eli will support a trauma-informed, evidence-based approach to cases, and, in all cases, will maintain an open line of communication to victims and their family members.

+ Investigate and charge environmental crimes

Too frequently, polluters are able to dirty our air and water, impose severe health consequences on the community—and avoid real responsibility for their actions. Eli is a longstanding environmental activist, and a respected national commentator on environmental justice issues. He worked tirelessly to secure environmental benefits for residents of the most polluted areas in Detroit, and has fought on behalf of multiple states to hold corporate polluters to account. A proven fighter for clean air and clean water, Eli will ensure that the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office investigates, and charges, all environmental crimes within its jurisdiction.

+ Protect workers, and prosecute corporate criminality

Justice for all means justice for all, and corporations that commit crimes shouldn’t be exempt from justice. As a lawyer, Eli has been unafraid to take on powerful corporate interests. He has personally led major public-interest lawsuits against banks, slumlords, the opioid industry, and corporate polluters. Eli is committed to ensuring that corporations are held to account when they break the law.

One particularly common corporate crime is wage theft. Too frequently, corporations short workers the money or benefits they are owed. Eli believes that wage theft is theft. He will prosecute, and hold to account, companies who intentionally steal from their workers.

+ Seek out, and eliminate, racial inequity

At every step in our criminal justice system, there is the potential for racial inequity. People of color are often charged differently for similar conduct; obtain harsher sentences for the same crimes; and are subject to more severe restrictions once a sentence has been served. That’s unjust. The criminal justice system should impose consequences based on what people did, not because of who they are.

Across the country, progressive prosecutors have committed to opening their files, and taking a hard look at the practices that lead racial inequity. In Milwaukee, for example, the elected prosecutor partnered with an outside researcher, who found that black defendants were being prosecuted at a far higher rate than white defendants for drug-paraphernalia crimes. That led the prosecutor to change practice. Eli will seek out opportunities to partner with independent researchers to root out racial disparities in prosecution.

+ Keep families together, and protect our immigrant population

Our criminal-justice system is particularly fraught for members of our immigrant community. Immigrants who are convicted of crimes—even minor offenses—are frequently subject to deportation. That often has the effect of separating mothers and fathers from their children. And it makes all of us less safe. When communities don’t trust the criminal justice system, they are less likely to report crimes or to serve as witnesses. That’s why Eli will require all prosecutors to consider the immigration consequences of any charge—and to file charges which don’t carry immigration consequences if they are appropriate. In addition, Eli will decline any federal requests to use county resources to assist with immigration enforcement.

+ Treat kids like kids

As any parent (or teacher) can tell you, kids aren’t just small adults. Yet too frequently, our criminal-justice system imposes adult consequences on children: detaining kids for long periods of time; levying harsh punishments on children; housing teenagers with adults who were convicted of violent crimes. That’s unsafe, unjust, and unwise. When kids are treated like adult criminals—and separated from their families—it diminishes their opportunity for rehabilitation, and ultimately makes it more likely that they’ll continue criminal activity. That, in turn, makes all of us less safe. Eli will prioritize rehabilitation for young people, and make every effort to ensure that families stay together.

Across the country, COVID-19 has spread rapidly in jails and prisons, and among law-enforcement personnel. When people who are justice-involved get sick, the virus inevitably spreads to the broader community. That is why Eli is calling for the following steps to to be taken—by prosecutors, courts, law-enforcement, and state-level officials—to protect the health and safety of our community:

+ Don't jail those who pose no threat

Jails and prisons are breeding grounds for the coronavirus. People behind bars live in close quarters, and it is difficult to maintain proper social-distancing protocols. Because the coronavirus spreads quickly when people are closely packed together, our jail population must be thinned to the greatest extent possible.

To stave off a potential public-health calamity, jailed people who pose no threat to others should be released. That includes people who are being held, pre-trial, because they cannot afford cash bail. It includes people who are being held for non-violent offenses. And it includes people whose release dates are near. Those who pose a demonstrable threat to others may still be held—if there is no other way to ensure community safety. Examples of people who might still be held include people who commit violent acts against live-in partners; people accused of serious crimes like murder; and those who repeatedly take advantage of the pandemic to commit crimes against others.

But now more than ever, jail should be the exception, not the rule. If we ensure that the only people behind bars are those who abolutely need to be there, we'll check transmission of the virus, prevent further community spread, and save lives.

+ Delay the imposition of new sentences

During a pandemic, shuffling people in and out of jails and prisons is a recipe for a public-health disaster. We cannot continue business as usual in the criminal-justice system while a deadly pandemic is raging.

Towards that end, we must delay all non-essential criminal trials and sentences for people who are not being held pending trial. Justice, of course, must still move forward for people who are being held pending trial. And defendants' speedy-trial rights must be respected. But we must do everything possible to avoid "churning" the jail and prison populations with people who pose no imminent threat to the broader community.

+ Release elderly and vulnerable people from prisons

Many people who are behind bars are elderly, immunocompromised, or otherwise at heightened risk from COVID-19. In addition, many people who are currently in the prison system are set to be released within weeks or months. Simply put, such people's lives are at risk. And unnecessary exposure to a deadly contagion should not be part of anyone's sentence.

Accordingly, Michigan should move swiftly to release from prison (1) the elderly,(2) the immunocompromised, (3) those with underlying health conditions, and (4) people whose release date is imminent. Exceptions can (and should) be made for those who pose a demonstrable safety risk to the broader community. But those exceptions will be few and far between. Data demonstrates that it is extraordinarily unlikely an elderly or sick person will commit a violent offense. And in most cases, there is little justification for imprisoning someone "just a few weeks longer," when those few weeks could be the difference between life and death.

This isn't just a matter of mercy. Ventilators are in short supply, and our medical capacity is stretched to its breaking point. To avoid further straining our hospitals, we need to do everything possible to prevent vulnerable people from becoming infected with COVID-19. Doing so will ultimately save lives—including the lives of those who are not in prison.

+ Suspend unnecessary court supervision and cost requirements

When people are under court supervision—either because they have been released pretrial, or because they are on probation—they are often required to periodically "check in," in person. Those requirements should be suspended during the COVID-19 outbreak. Requiring in-person "check-ins" is inconsistent with social-distancing practices, and threatens to spread the virus further in our community.

At the same time, people who have been justice-involved are frequently required to pay fines and fees relating to their cases. Failure to pay can land somebody right back in jail, and could permanently mar their record. With the economy at a standstill during the COVID-19 outbreak—and with unemployment skyrocketing—rigid requirements to timely pay fines and fees should be suspended.

+ Treat justice-involved people humanely

Justice-involved people are people. They have friends, loved ones, and familes who care about them—and are worried about their safety during the coronavirus crisis.

Jail and prison officials should therefore make every effort to protect the health and safety of those behind bars, and to ensure that they can connect with their loved ones. People in jail and prison should have access to cleaning materials, hand sanitizer, and soap. They should be informed about social-distancing practices. And, for at least the duration of the coronavirus crisis, video visitation and phone calls should be free of charge.

We all need to treat each other humanely during these trying times, and that goes for justice-involved people and their loved ones.