According to the Prison Policy Initiative:
Michigan county jails see about 163,000 admissions every year
1 in 4 of these arrests belong to the same person
The three largest factors that increase the likelihood of reoffending are high poverty, mental illness and substance use rates.
Introducing Missaukee County, a rural community in northern Michigan, where the poverty rate is 13.3% – almost two points higher than the national average.
The county’s jail administrator, Jesse Harwood, said that substance use, particularly methamphetamines, and the domestic and property crimes that result have been the driving force behind arrests for the Lake City jail and others around Northern Michigan.
The jail tries to accommodate these individuals, but from a small town comes a small budget. For the average 30-35 people in the jail at any given time, they have peer recovery group sessions twice a week (large enough for a maximum of 6-8 people) hosted by Catholic Human Services, a rotation of volunteers for a weekly non-demoninatioal Sunday service, and tablets for individual therapy sessions through Northern Michigan Community Mental Health.
Resources hang on the wall at the Missaukee County Jail on March 19, 2024, in Lake City, Mich.
Once released, there is no standardized re-entry support from the jail or housing opportunities within Missaukee County - just cards and phone numbers given for the recently released to coordinate themselves.
So, despite the recognized pattern of substance use and recidivism in the area and the jail being located in Lake City, there is minimal funding for support while in jail and the closest mental health centers are in neighboring communities at least 10 to 15 miles away.
Now these are all things I've always known, as have many others in and around Lake City - but the problem lies in locking away the "problem" rather than making real moves towards a solution.
Matthew VanderJagt, 40, a person behind bars at Missaukee County Jail, attends the substance use peer support group hosted by Catholic Human Services on March 19, 2024, in Lake City, Mich.
But the criminal legal system isn't the only institution I wanted to address in the creation of this project.
As a journalist, there were also a number of practices I took on in order to showcase these issues while giving the people behind bars I spoke with as much agency as possible.
Journalism Ethics
There are three major deviations I made from typical journalistic practices in the creation of this project:
1. Informed Consent: Ahead of each interview I introduced myself, the project at hand, and the goal of potential publication on a local or even state level, and for any sources who were photographed or video recorded, I had waivers for them to sign to ensure they knew the full meaning and potential publicity that came from their participation.
2. Second Reference: In the pieces written, I used sources’ first names on second reference. People behind bars are so often reduced to their last name or an inmate identification number once they’re incarcerated - I wanted to humanize them as much as possible, especially in the midst of a story that highlights some of their lowest moments.
3. Review: Upon completion of the individual stories, I’ve reviewed quotes and certain personal details with them to ensure proper context is given and the tone of the story is true to their experience at every step.
All in all, I wanted this project to feel like ours, not mine. That they were truly collaborators, not subjects.
These practices were inspired both by experience, but also by a concept called Ethics of Care. The Ethics of Care is moral philosophy first conceptualized by 20th century theorist Carol Gilligan that challenges traditional ethics systems based strictly on laws and justice and incorporates the importance of community, connection and compassion in decision making.
It is a common expectation in journalism to be objective in all manners of reporting - but objective does not have to mean uncaring. Our industry's responsibility to the public should always include those we report about, too.
Language
The second was taking a look at the language I was using to describe the people and systems in place.
One of my committee members, assistant professor Dr. Maji Debena from the College of Human Medicine, informed me of the language she uses in her research surrounding mental health in underserved populations - people behind bars being one of them - and I implemented it into my work.
This cause is further detailed by the Prison Journalism Project, an organization that aims to bring about prison reform by training and platforming people behind bars to share their experiences. The PJP also provides resources for journalists outside of the carceral system, including language best-practices.
Words are powerful, and the language we use creates subtext that shapes the way our readers view the people and places highlighted in our work. To stick to commonized language like justice system, guard, felon and addict, I’d already be putting my primary sources at a disadvantage – they'd automatically be the villains in a story that aims to reveal the systemic and societal failures that contribute to recidivism.
By replacing these phrases with criminal legal system or carceral system, corrections officer, people behind bars and substance use – we take the away the implicit bias. This language is not only more specific, but it allowed my individual sources a space to share their experiences that is crafted with respect.
With these practices in mind, I present the project before you - Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Realities of Incarceration in Rural America.