MI- Rehabilitating sex offenders

3-27-2009 Michigan:

MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - To get Michigan back on track, the governor is being forced to make some tough decisions.

Governor Granholm plans to cut $100 million from the prison system. That's enough to close two state prisons and force parole boards to think about letting some 4,000 prisoners free. That number would include sex offenders.

The state will have to re-evaluate everyone who is eligible for parole. If a prisoner has been sentenced to a two to ten year sentence, the state would like to parole them around the two-year mark. The hope is that they would get more help by re-joining society, resulting in less repeat offenders.

Chuck Wilson works for a privately funded group that helps ex-cons get used to life outside of prison, a transition that can be extremely difficult for sex offenders.

"When people say sex offenders, they get the idea this person did something really bad and that's not all true," said Wilson.

Wilson says that on sex offender registry websites, chronic child molesters are listed right next to people arrested for urinating in public.

"Our laws are written as such that, that minor offense is the same category as an extreme pedophile," said Wilson.

Wilson has been working with Tim Mullikin since he was released from prison in October.

"I was arrested for molesting a nine-year-old boy," said Mullikin.

After 23 years, Mullikin maxed out, meaning he was never given parole. Newschannel 3 asked Mullikin how many times he was up for parole, and he told us 16 or 17 times.

Mullikin is listed on the sex offender registry, since he's not on parole he receives no help from the state. Stories like Mullikin's will soon be ancient history since cons will now be paroled sooner.

Milton Wells is part of the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative, he works with 480 parolees in Kalamazoo County, but with cons being paroled sooner, that number will jump by close to a hundred in 2009, about 20 percent of which are sex offenders.

"The question becomes would you rather an individual just be let out on the street or would you rather them come out under supervision," said Wells.

Wells says sex offenders can be among the hardest prisoners to reintegrate into society since they can't live within 1,000 feet of a school.

"It's a challenge for housing," said Wells, "and certainly in a down market for jobs it's going to be a challenge because the employer is going to say why hire an individual with baggage."

Mullikin can testify to the difficulties facing sex offenders who've been released from prison, he was rejected from several jobs and even shelters won't take him, or didn't have room. Like many other ex-cons he has few options.

"The next night I ended up in the park because I had no place to go," said Mullikin.

Mullikin's been luckier than some, he now has an apartment, some income and a decent chance at starting a new life, although he knows he may never be able to shake his past.

"To me, on my own, I'm already past that," said Mullikin, "but to society, maybe not."

Between 40 and 50 percent of people released from prison wind up back behind bars. For sex offenders, that number is actually a little lower.

Milton Wells and the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative have had success in reducing that figure by five to ten percent. Starting in 2010, all parolees will have to go through the program. ..News Source.. by WWMT.com