MARENISCO TOWNSHIP, MI-- The Supervisor of Marenisco Township says a plan to close the Ojibway Correctional Facility is political.
Richard Bouvette says he doesn’t buy the Department of Corrections’ contention that Ojibway is too isolated and it needs to be shut down to save the state money. He speculates many of those involved in the decision are term-limited and won’t have to face repercussions.
“I was just told last year that Ojibway Correctional Facility was the most efficient in the State of Michigan, and now I see facts from the same place telling us that it’s the least efficient,” he says. “So I don’t know what’s going on, here. I think it’s political. I think it’s ridiculous.”
Bouvette says while the state recidivism rate may be improving, the Gogebic County Jail is overcrowded with inmates who should have gone back to prison. He was told the number of probation violators in area jails amounted to about 1,200—or enough to fill a prison.
Bouvette is asking residents to write their lawmakers. He says the only real way to fight the closure may be to file a lawsuit.