Letter to Governor Whitmer

 Dear Governor Whitmer,

I’m writing to you today, not as a citizen of Michigan, nor the United States but as a citizen of the world. 

The purpose of my letter is to ask you to look at the case of Carlos King, a prisoner of the Michigan 

Correctional Department.

Carlos has served 30 years of a 50-75 sentence. He was imprisoned at the age of 18 for 2 counts of 

armed robbery and one count of felony firearms. The guidelines for sentencing were 3 years minimum 

to 8 years maximum. The judge who tried the case took it upon himself to add to the sentence for 

crimes that Mr. King was tried for but found innocent of.

It has since been recognized that this was an unconstitutional sentencing, and it should be reversed 

immediately. 

These are the raw facts of this case. However, as you know there are so many stories between the lines 

when we look at individuals’ lives. What has happened to Mr. King, and I suspect so many other men, 

especially men of color, is so shameful for your nation.

The issues represented by this one case are so vast it’s hard to know where to start talking. I know that 

there are many, many good people in the USA but there are very deep, systemic racial issues. The way 

African American people are treated is the dark underbelly of your country. I think that we all know, 

whether it’s admitted, that African Americans have been kept poor and have lacked basic opportunities 

like education, healthcare and a decent basic wage for many years. These simple things, or lack of, lead 

to many other problems for these families. Can you imagine a single mother raising a family on her 

own, with very little money and not much assistance year in and year out? These children one day 

become adults, many are angry, many crave things that they don’t even know how to express. It’s no 

wonder that in the first instance they get caught up in crime and consequently find themselves 

imprisoned.

Once imprisoned, they have no voice, no power, no money for high priced lawyers. How do they get 

heard when such an injustice was handed down to them? The level of frustration must be enormous 

and yet they carry on. In Mr. Kings case, he has used the last 30 years to educate himself, to become a 

moral person, to be remorseful for what he did at the tender age of 18. He is now a mature man of 48. 

It did not take 30 years for Mr. King to become the amazing man he is today, but he has done it despite 

being locked up, unconstitutionally. That he, or anyone, could find that sort of intestinal fortitude 

surpasses my understanding. That is to be admired. Mr. King is the kind of person one would want to 

be in our communities as he would surely be making a difference. A difference for the betterment of 

the world.

If you will indulge me, I’d like to share a story. 

There was an old man who had a habit of walking along the beach every morning. One day as 

he walks, just after there had been a big storm, he noticed the beach littered with starfish that 

had been washed up onto the beach by the storm. He came across a small boy who was 

throwing starfish back into the ocean. As the older man approached the boy, he asked what he 

was doing. The boy replied that once the sun got high the starfish would die from the heat, so he 

was throwing them back into the ocean to save them. The older man pointed out that there 

were literally tens of thousands of these starfish and were his actions really going to make any

difference. The boy looked at him, bent over and picked up a starfish and threw it as far as he 

could into the ocean. He looked at the older man and said “”it made a difference to that one”.

Governor Whitmer, you could make a real difference to a man’s life if you could set Carlos King free 

from an unjust prison sentence. It’s not only that the number of years he has served are unjust but that 

he is an amazing man and member of the human race who will certainly make the world a better place. 

He already does make it a better place from his prison cell. But he deserves to be free and to spend the 

rest of his life in liberty and in peace. He has more than paid for his crimes. I know that he will not leave 

prison and hide away. He will be a role model for many people and spread love and respect wherever he 

goes.

Like the starfish, it’s a lottery for which one gets picked up and freed by the goodness of another. You 

are in a position that could make a difference in Mr. King’s life and the lives of many others who will 

surely be touched by this man’s goodness if he were to be set free.

Is this not what all nations want? Is this not supposed to be the intention of the prison system? To 

rehabilitate and release effective people back into society, so that they can contribute to making the 

country a better place for all its citizens? To imprison an 18-year-old for 50-75 years is the real crime in 

this story. I pray that you think more of your own legacy as Governor than to be unrecognizable among 

all other politicians. I pray that you see the opportunity to do something great and to let justice shine. If 

the USA cannot rehabilitate an 18-year-old boy who has lost his way, then how great a nation is it? To 

lock these young men up and virtually throw away the key is not the workings of a great nation. It’s a 

dark smear on your reputation.

I grew up in Australia and my opinion of the USA was that it was a great country. I think there was a 

time when the world looked to the US as a real-world leader. The USA gave a sense of comfort to the 

rest of us. But in these past years I think that reputation has slipped significantly mostly based on its 

treatment of people. I believe that the US can once again be that leader that the rest of the world 

wants to look to. A country that holds similar values to us and stands for good and “justice”. It starts 

with someone picking up a starfish and throwing it back into the ocean.

Thank you for reading my letter and I hope that it gives food for thought and that its something that you

will think about as you go to bed at night.

Yours sincerely,

Louise Myers