In Michigan, what should be a symbol of achievement is being reduced to copy paper.
A diploma should denote hard work and a step toward a better future. For incarcerated individuals in Michigan, though, that symbol is being stripped away by Department of Corrections policy. Under current MDOC mailroom rules, all personal mail is photocopied and the original destroyed, whether it’s a birthday card, a family photo, or a hard-earned diploma.
The Diploma Problem
This policy, designed to block contraband from entering prisons, has an unintended (or maybe just ignored) consequence: incarcerated people are losing access to their original diplomas and certificates. The photocopies that get handed over are stripped of seals, signatures, and authenticity, leaving individuals with nothing but a facsimile of an achievement they fought hard for.
DOC’s “Solution” That Isn’t Really a Solution
The Department claims there’s a workaround: the mailroom can arrange for the original diploma to be sent somewhere else—a family member’s house, for example. But here’s the obvious problem: what if you don’t have family? What if you don’t have anyone on the outside who can keep it safe?
That’s the reality for many incarcerated people, especially those serving long terms or those abandoned by family networks. In those cases, the so-called “solution” is no solution at all. The diploma just gets destroyed, as though the accomplishment never happened.
Why It Matters
This isn’t about sentimentality; it’s about survival. Diplomas and certificates are more than just keepsakes: they’re proof of education, often needed for job applications, trade licenses, or further schooling after release. Stripping people of those originals is not only dehumanizing but it hands down sabotages reentry and rehabilitation.
A Path Forward
There are practical alternatives. Original diplomas could be logged, stored in central DOC records, or sealed in secure property storage until release. Narrow exceptions can be carved out for documents that carry life-altering weight.
But pretending a photocopy is “good enough” is just lazy policy dressed up as safety.
If the system wants incarcerated people to prepare for a second chance, it can’t keep shredding their future along with their mail. Because no one should have to ask: What good is a diploma if the state destroys it before you can ever hold it
Here’s How You Can Help
Diplomas are more than paper; they’re proof of progress, a key to reentry, and a lifeline to dignity. Shredding them is not safety, it’s sabotage.
If you believe Michigan DOC should preserve original diplomas instead of destroying them, contact:
- Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington
MDOC-info@michigan.gov - Your State Legislators
Find them here: Michigan Legislature Directory - Advocacy Groups: Reach out to reentry and prison reform organizations like Safe & Just Michigan and Nation Outside.
Tell them something needs to change. That originals should be logged, stored, and returned upon release, not shredded. Because rehabilitation means nothing if the state itself is erasing achievements.
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