LANSING — The criminal justice system failed Thomas and Raymond Highers.
“(I was) a 20-year-old going into prison and being wrongfully convicted,” Raymond Highers said. “Never having a chance to become what you wanted to be, to build a life, a career, all of that was stolen from us. Now, we’re 50 year olds starting out like we’re 20 year olds. It’s breaking you down and it’s tough, it’s really tough.”
Typically, when convicts leave prison they enter the parole system, which helps them adjust to life on the outside.
The Highers, innocent men, had no such luxury when they left prison in 2013. But for the support of their family, they would have been on their own in a brand-new world.
But, a bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers from both chambers of the Legislature is trying to change that.