The grief of losing a loved one to violence is immeasurable. No amount of money can replace the years, the memories, or the stability that’s suddenly ripped away. It’s understandable that the widow in this MLive story wants justice and that she’s fighting for the $2 million judgment against the people who murdered her husband.
But the expectations she’s setting do not at all reflect how crushingly difficult it is for people coming out of prison to earn anything close to that kind of money. Which may be intentional.
It’s also from a heavily punitive era that is no longer in line with reality.
The Pain Is Real — And So Is the Anger
When someone takes the life of a spouse, the loss reverberates forever. There’s grief, financial strain, and a desire to see the person responsible truly pay for what they’ve done. That’s why civil judgments exist; to recognize harm and create a path toward restitution.
But in practice, especially when the person responsible has already spent years behind bars, those judgments often go unpaid. Not because survivors don’t deserve compensation, but because the post-prison reality is brutal.
Life After Prison Isn’t Built for Redemption or Earning
Formerly incarcerated people face significant challenges, called collateral consequences:
- Severe employment discrimination. Many employers automatically reject applicants with felony convictions.
- Occupational licensing barriers. Entire professions, from skilled trades to healthcare, are closed to people with certain criminal records.
- Wage stagnation. Even when they find work, it’s often low-paying, unstable, and without benefits.
- Housing instability. Without secure housing, holding a job becomes even harder.
- Parole and supervision limits. Curfews, travel limits, and mandatory check-ins disrupt consistent work.
Collecting a multimillion-dollar judgment assumes the person can build a career or business capable of paying it off. For most returning citizens, that’s a far cry from reality. In fact, many spend years simply trying to secure any legal employment at all.
And the fact that the person has already been dragged back into court leads me to believe that’s exactly the point; the widow wants the judge to violate that person and put them back in prison indefinitely, creating a debtor’s prison situation. There isn’t a soul alive who doesn’t know how expensive everything is, how Michigan has ridiculously priced rent, and how certain criminal records bar people from renting just anywhere, potentially leaving them without a place to live, let alone work.
What’s especially disturbing is this is a juvenile lifer case, meaning the individuals in the case committed their crimes before their brains were even finished developing.
A Harder Truth About Civil Judgments
Civil judgments against people with little to no assets are symbolic more than practical. Garnishments and liens only work if there’s income or property to reach. If someone struggles to get stable work because of a criminal record, the judgment will sit unpaid indefinitely.
That doesn’t mean the widow’s pain or pursuit of justice is invalid; it’s just out of touch with the reality of the situation. And it’s unfair, because our broken system often sets up survivors with expectations that never match economic reality. We promise “compensation” but build societal barriers that make payment nearly impossible.
A Call for Both Empathy and Reform
We should want victims’ families to feel seen and supported. But we should also recognize the way society handicaps formerly incarcerated people from rebuilding their lives and how that makes real restitution unattainable.
If we want accountability that actually helps survivors, we need better reentry support, fair-chance hiring, and systems that make restitution possible instead of impossible.
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