Detroit Free Press’ Paul Egan has once again knocked it out of the park with an informative article shedding much needed light on Michigan DOC’s lackluster grievance process.
In a rare but powerful judicial rebuke, U.S. District Judge Magistrate Elizabeth A. Stafford recently blasted Michigan’s prison grievance system, calling it a “sham” that effectively silences incarcerated individuals and blocks them from accessing the courts.
Her ruling came in a civil rights lawsuit filed by Kenneth Tucker, an incarcerated man who he was denied medical care for serious gastrointestinal issues while imprisoned by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC).
And she did not mince words.
She described the grievance process as so convoluted and flawed that it denied Tucker and so many others meaningful access to justice. In her ruling, she excused Tucker’s failure to complete the state’s grievance process, citing its dysfunction as a legitimate barrier. The decision effectively allows his federal lawsuit to proceed despite MDOC’s insistence that he didn’t “exhaust administrative remedies.”
This case exposes a deeper, systemic problem: Michigan’s prison grievance system isn’t just broken; it’s being weaponized.
Why it Matters
In theory, the prison grievance process is supposed to be a mechanism for incarcerated people to resolve issues internally.
That could be unsafe conditions, abuse, or denial of medical care before going to court. But in Michigan, the process is so heavily manipulated and bureaucratic that it routinely prevents people from getting any resolution at all.
Here are just a few ways the system fails:
- Short deadlines and complex rules that are nearly impossible to navigate without legal training
- Grievances rejected on technicalities, even for legitimate complaints
- Retaliation against those who file “too often” or raise serious concerns
- Appeals processes that create endless mazes and loops with no clear path to resolution
This is not just an administrative issue; it’s a civil rights nightmare.
Access to the Courts and Red Tape
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires that incarcerated people exhaust all internal remedies before filing a federal lawsuit.
But as the article highlighted, when the grievance system itself is dysfunctional or deceptive, that requirement becomes an intentionally set trap.
Tucker’s case is far from unique. Thousands of incarcerated people in Michigan and across the country are denied meaningful medical care, subjected to unsafe conditions, or abused. They are effectively silenced when they try to speak up.
This is how the system shields itself from accountability.
John Oliver Breaks it Down
Where Do We Go From Here?
Cases like this renew my faith in the judiciary.
And the ruling is a wake-up call.
The State of Michigan must overhaul its grievance procedures, ensure transparency, and create mechanisms that protect rather punish those who speak out, a problem they need to work on in general.
Otherwise, the constitutional rights of incarcerated people will continue to be violated behind locked doors and sealed files. And if we allow one group’s rights to be violated, everyone else’s rights aren’t far behind.
If we’re serious about justice, then every person, regardless of incarceration status, must have access to a process that works.
