ANN ARBOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — For the first time in 10 years, Kirk Herman is not spending Christmas behind bars. But he hasn't forgotten those still in prison, or heading there.
Refused parole five times, Herman finally was released in April. Since then, he has participated in the Michigan Prisoner Re-entry Initiative.
The program, begun by the Michigan Department of Corrections last January, is designed to reduce recidivism and incarceration costs by coordinating housing, treatment programs and job training for nonviolent offenders returning to society.
Herman, 33, was convicted in 1997 of driving drunk and causing the death of a friend who was seated behind him when his vehicle hit a tree along a rural road near Brighton. He was sentenced to 5 to 30 years.
"Unfortunately, drinking and driving was something we did way too often," he told The Ann Arbor News.
Unable to find a job after his release, Herman enrolled at Washtenaw Community College, where he's earned a 3.8 grade-point average as part of two-year physical therapy program. He's now working part time and is promoting his book, "What Happens Now?: A Look at Life Behind Bars."
Written at the urging of his mother, Florence Collins of Chelsea, Herman's 70-page booklet provides a firsthand account of what prospective prisoners and their loved ones can expect once the judge orders incarceration. It doesn't draw on the unsavory aspects of prison life often depicted on television and in the movies. Instead, it covers what incoming prisoners need to know, including meal schedules, religious activities and meeting with parole boards.
"You can read books filled with tons of horror stories about the gangs, the drugs and gambling going on in prison, but there was nothing out there like this for families of people doing time," Herman said. "And there were so many questions."
Harold Wimberly, program manager with POWER Inc., an Ann Arbor-based organization that provides case management for returning parolees in the state-run program, said Herman has become the model for program participants.
"He's very focused and when you meet a man who has the drive, potential and genuine way about him that he does, it's very refreshing," Wimberly said. "You see a lot of guys come in here with great plans and then they fall through, but not him. Everything he says, he's done.
"And he could've done a lot of things, but chose to do the right thing."