Michigan Jails Shift Operational Costs to Families of the Incarcerated
In late January 2023, Barry County Jail transitioned to a new commissary system. It was touted as being better, offering…
Rita Williams
Rita Williams is a Michigan-based judicial oversight analyst and founder of Clutch Justice, an investigative platform focused on court system accountability, sentencing integrity, and SCAO policy. Her work examines how courts, policies, and administrative systems operate in practice, with a focus on where process breaks down and harm is created. Drawing on lived experience and systems-level analysis, she writes to make legal structures more readable, expose institutional gaps, and advocate for reforms grounded in both evidence and human impact. Rita’s writing bridges legal analysis, institutional critique, and public education, with a consistent focus on accountability without losing sight of the people most affected by the justice system.
DNA Retention and its Future in Criminal Justice
Fresh Ideas Series ? Evidence-Based Reform DNA is a quintessential gamechanger in criminal justice. It has the power to solve…
Broken Plea Deals in Barry County Michigan — Judge Michael Schipper Case Timeline Analysis
The more I dig, the more the paper trail lines up against Barry County Judge Michael Schipper. Court records reveal…
How Michigan Courts Manipulate Court Satisfaction Surveys to Hide the Truth
Did you know courts hand out “random” satisfaction surveys? Except they’re anything but random. Those results are calculated and recorded…
The Dangers of Stop-and-Frisk: Key Concerns and Issues with Police Policies
Fresh Ideas Series ? Evidence-Based Reform Stop-and-frisk practices are a controversial police tactic in which officers may stop individuals they…
How the Criminal Justice System Fails Veterans — And What Needs to Change
Fresh Ideas Series ? Evidence-Based Reform United States veterans are a special breed of American, going into war zones when…
Fresh Ideas: Changing the Narrative on Criminal Justice
Hearing someone say “we need to get tough on crime” makes me think of The Princess Bride. Inigo Montoya turns…
Barry County’s Punishment Model: How Jail, Fees, and Sentencing Practices Raise Larger Questions About Justice
Individual experiences raise broader questions about how local criminal justice systems operate. In Barry County, several patterns reported by incarcerated…
The Michigan Criminal Justice System Destroys Lives.
There are no perfect words to describe what it feels like when elected officials and public servants are actively destroying…
5 Things Wrong with the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson, Michigan
I learned that my husband was supposed to receive a pre-paid envelope to send a grievance in the mail. The guards refuse to provide it, directly interfering in the grievance process.
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