Good News, Bad News

The bad news first. Michigan prisoners have been falling from the balconies of two prisons in Jackson.

The good news: Something is finally being done about it!

Last week we learned that a prisoner had died after falling from an upper-level gallery. State officials said it was the third time in three days that an incarcerated person fell from the gallery at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center. 26-year-old Devin Hurst died from those injuries sustained in the. The MDOC advised us that the other two guys “are back under MDOC supervision after initially receiving care at outside facilities.”

It was just a year ago that another resident of Egeler fell to his death. There have also been prior instances of prisoners dying after jumping from the upper gallery of the facility.

Since 2020, six prisoners at Egeler and the Parnall CF have died after falling or jumping from the upper gallery housing units on the fourth floor of the facilities.

In August 2023, a prison employee formally complained to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office that the gallery railings at Egeler and Parnall were too low, putting workers at risk of falling or being pushed to their deaths. Both prisons have tiered cell structures accessed by walkways. The gallery railings on those walkways measure 38 inches — below Michigan workplace safety standards. Jump prevention fixtures have not been installed at either facility. After OSHA followed up, it was determined that no hazard existed.

No matter what OSHA said, it’s obvious that a hazard does exist. The good news is that, finally, those two prisons will soon have safety railings! Last year The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $10 million to be spent on railings in Egeler and Parnall.

HFP founder Doug Tjapkes contacted MDOC Director Heidi Washington’s right-hand man, Kyle Kaminski, following the 3 balcony tragedies last week. Kyle reported to Doug today: “The Department received initial funding for these projects in the 2026 budget, which began on October 1, 2025.  The department recently selected a qualified contractor, who will be onsite in the next 3-4 weeks to start the project.”

Both projects had to be separately bid. Egeler’s railing project is coming first, but both are moving forward, according to Kaminski.

Meanwhile, he said, steps are being taken to prevent any more falls from those balconies. “Until the project is completed, new rules have been put in place requiring direct staff escorts at the facility when there is out of cell movement on the gallery levels.”

- Doug Tjapkes, Founder Humamity for Prisoners