Women incarcerated at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV), Michigan’s only women’s prison, have released an open letter to state leaders outlining a comprehensive plan to address prison conditions while creating pathways for healing, restoration, and release.
The letter, titled “Solutions for Women’s Huron Valley from Women Serving Long Time at WHV,” proposes a three-phase Women’s Clemency and Resentencing Initiative that could lead to the release of approximately 800 women over three years, reducing the prison population by nearly half and allowing the facility to return to its intended single-cell design.
The proposal comes amid growing public scrutiny of conditions at WHV and presents solutions developed directly by the many women living there—grounded in lived experience, accountability, and a vision for healing.
Phase I of the initiative calls on Governor Gretchen Whitmer to expedite clemency for more than 100 women who have demonstrated decades of growth, leadership, and service while incarcerated. Many have completed educational programs, mentored peers, and helped build healthier community conditions inside the facility.
“When weighing the costs and benefits of incarceration there should always be pathways towards healing facilitated by mercy.” — Tashiena Combs, incarcerated nearly 27 years
Additional phases of the proposal combine executive clemency, legislative reform, and expanded reentry support. The women call for resentencing policies that would allow survivors of abuse to apply for sentence review, alongside investments in community-based reentry infrastructure to support long-serving women returning home.
“Reducing the population, correcting systemic breakdowns, and implementing a more transformative approach would create a safer and more effective environment for justice-impacted individuals.” — Katherine Woods (Wright), incarcerated 23 years
Advocates say the plan represents a shift away from purely punitive approaches toward solutions rooted in transformation, accountability, and compassion. “Correction can come through compassion.” — Angela Fisher, incarcerated 30 years
The initiative also proposes the development of Healing Homes Farm, a community-based supportive housing and reentry project designed to provide peer leadership, healing-centered programming, and wraparound services for women returning home after long prison sentences. The project would be supported through donations and community partnerships.
"Until they make room for healing and start allowing women to be released while they are still able to give back to the community with their skills and talents instead of take from the community through incarceration, the problems will remain,” said LaWanda Hollister, Organizer and Connector with the American Friends Service Committee. “I know these women and they are rehabilitated and need the opportunity to come home and demonstrate their rehabilitation."
The women conclude their letter with a message of urgency and possibility: “All of this is possible. The time is now.”
The letter, titled “Solutions for Women’s Huron Valley from Women Serving Long Time at WHV,” proposes a three-phase Women’s Clemency and Resentencing Initiative that could lead to the release of approximately 800 women over three years, reducing the prison population by nearly half and allowing the facility to return to its intended single-cell design.
The proposal comes amid growing public scrutiny of conditions at WHV and presents solutions developed directly by the many women living there—grounded in lived experience, accountability, and a vision for healing.
Phase I of the initiative calls on Governor Gretchen Whitmer to expedite clemency for more than 100 women who have demonstrated decades of growth, leadership, and service while incarcerated. Many have completed educational programs, mentored peers, and helped build healthier community conditions inside the facility.
“When weighing the costs and benefits of incarceration there should always be pathways towards healing facilitated by mercy.” — Tashiena Combs, incarcerated nearly 27 years
Additional phases of the proposal combine executive clemency, legislative reform, and expanded reentry support. The women call for resentencing policies that would allow survivors of abuse to apply for sentence review, alongside investments in community-based reentry infrastructure to support long-serving women returning home.
“Reducing the population, correcting systemic breakdowns, and implementing a more transformative approach would create a safer and more effective environment for justice-impacted individuals.” — Katherine Woods (Wright), incarcerated 23 years
Advocates say the plan represents a shift away from purely punitive approaches toward solutions rooted in transformation, accountability, and compassion. “Correction can come through compassion.” — Angela Fisher, incarcerated 30 years
The initiative also proposes the development of Healing Homes Farm, a community-based supportive housing and reentry project designed to provide peer leadership, healing-centered programming, and wraparound services for women returning home after long prison sentences. The project would be supported through donations and community partnerships.
"Until they make room for healing and start allowing women to be released while they are still able to give back to the community with their skills and talents instead of take from the community through incarceration, the problems will remain,” said LaWanda Hollister, Organizer and Connector with the American Friends Service Committee. “I know these women and they are rehabilitated and need the opportunity to come home and demonstrate their rehabilitation."
The women conclude their letter with a message of urgency and possibility: “All of this is possible. The time is now.”
