Safe and Just Michigan
Safe and Just Michigan is a left-of-center advocacy group that advocates for criminal justice and prison reform in Michigan. Leaders of Safe and Just Michigan have claimed that police started as slave patrols sent to capture runaways, that the “historical racial oppression” is embedded in modern police departments, 1 and described the U.S. criminal justice system as “impossible, unfair and dehumanizing.” 2 Leaders of Safe and Just Michigan have also called for defunding of police departments 3 and reparations for African-Americans. 3 4
Contents
Policy Proposals
Safe and Just Michigan advocated for the release of inmates from prison who were deemed to have an “elevated risk” of serious complications from COVID. 5 In 2020, the group supported legislation that would have created a presumption of pre-trial release for persons who were not a danger to the public or a flight risk. 6 It also supported legislation in 2021 to permit expungement of first-time Operating While Intoxicated offenses. 7
Ronnie Waters
Safe and Just Michigan hired Ronnie Waters as its community engagement specialist in 2021. 8
Waters was convicted of first-degree murder after killing Deborah Porcelli, a 29-year-old mother, in 1980. Waters received a life sentence but was released in 2020. In the July 28, 2021 press release announcing they had hired Waters, Safe and Just Michigan wrote, “He didn’t want to waste time feeling bitter about the decades he spent incarcerated.” 8
Safe and Just Michigan described the Porcelli shooting differently from contemporaneous reports. It stated that “Waters thought a stranger inside a car disrespected one of his friends,” and “decided to scare the man in the car with the weapon he thought was incapable of inflicting real harm.” The press release stated that Waters “intended to only startle the stranger wound up killing the man’s wife, who was seated beside him in the passenger seat.” 8
In 1981, describing the shooting, the Detroit Free Press reported that “a group of youths” approached a car at a drive-thru and asked for a light. 9 When Joseph Porcelli said he didn’t have one, “the youth fired shots into the car.” Earlier, the paper had reported that Waters fired two shots into the car after occupants refused to give the shooter a match. 10 The paper also reported in 1980 that the first shot shattered a window which shattered glass and hit Joseph Porcelli in the eye. The second shot was two-to-four seconds later and hit Deborah Porcelli in the head. 11
Funding
Safe and Just Michigan had $1.4 million in revenue in 2019. 12 The left-of-center Center for American Progress gave Safe and Just Michigan $50,000 in 2018. 13
Leadership
John S. Cooper is the executive director of Safe and Just Michigan. He was previously a policy analyst for state Rep. David LaGrand (D-Grand Rapids). 14
Jennifer Cobbina is on the board of directors for Safe and Just Michigan and is an associate professor at Michigan State University. 15 Cobbina stated that “racial bias and legalized racial subordination” has compromised efforts to “implement criminal justice.” 3 Cobbina stated the police operate “with impunity” after “modern-day killing of unarmed black men, women and children.” 3
Cobbina called the Black Lives Matter movement the “largest movement in U.S. history.” 3 Cobbina stated that historical racial oppression “plays out in” modern police practices, that police started as slave patrols that terrorized runaway slaves, and that police departments “have upheld and enforced unjust, discriminatory laws for 401 years.” 3 Cobbina said it was necessary to “divest in police and prison expansion” to fix “systemic racism terrorizing the black community” while calling for reparations to Black Americans. 3
Jonathan Sacks is secretary of the board of directors of Safe and Just Michigan and is the director of the Michigan State Appellate Defender Officer. 15 He has called the U.S. criminal justice system “impossible, unfair, and dehumanizing.” 2
Gary Ashby is a board member of Safe and Just Michigan. 15 He said he supported the divestment of “resources away from policing” and toward education and healthcare. 4 Ashby said he supported reparations “for the suffering inflicted on black people because of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and targeted mass incarceration.” 4
Shari Ware is a board member of Safe and Just Michigan. 15 Ware advocated for state legislators to give public dollars to non-profits that help the needy in an April 12, 2020 op-ed in the Detroit News. 16
Josh Hoe is senior policy analyst at Safe and Just Michigan. He has claimed that the justice system is “too addicted to punishment” and stated, “We have way too many people that we’re putting away for way too many reasons.” 17
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
| Year | Total Assets | Total Revenue | Total Expenses | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,161,874 | $613,045 | $2,550,564 | View |
| 2023 | $3,161,034 | $3,933,727 | $3,528,133 | View |
| 2022 | $2,708,343 | $2,507,766 | $1,962,561 | View |
| 2021 | $2,081,586 | $1,734,601 | $1,615,107 | View |
| 2020 | $1,930,877 | $1,664,671 | $1,245,548 | View |
Prior year filings: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011
Revenue Detail
Expenses Detail
Employee Compensation
- Number of Employees: 12
Highest Earning Employees
| Employee | Title | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Catherine McCracken | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | $82,581 |
| John S Cooper | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | $72,747 |
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $14,402,959
- Number of Grants: 95
- Number of Funders: 35
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $2,338,911
- Number of Grants: 29
- Number of Recipients: 16
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years: