Michigan Republicans are raising the alarm as House Democrats prepare to approve legislation that could free thousands of violent criminals from prison.

In a recap of legislation on the move last week, Senate Republicans took aim at legislation approved by the Democrat-majority House Committee on Criminal Justice that “could release thousands of convicted criminals from prison early, including murderers, armed assaulters and child abusers.”

“House Bills 4556-4560 would make our state a less safe place to live, work and raise a family,” the newsletter read. “This legislation is a slap in the face to victims and their families who have lost parents, spouses or even children to violent crime.

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“Rehabilitation is important, but it must not come at the cost of safety or justice.”

The bill package, known as the Second Look Sentencing Act, was introduced by Rep. Kara Hope, D-Holt, in May to allow felons to petition the courts to review their sentences after serving 20 years, with all offenses except mass shootings eligible.

Estimates suggest about 7,000 violent offenders would gain a chance at a new hearing, though the legislation would allow judges to reject requests from those who committed certain crimes, such as sex abuse of children, domestic assaults or human trafficking offenses.

Proponents include most Democrats and the American Bar Association, which argues the effort is designed to combat “bias in the justice system by reforming laws and practices that have an unjustifiably disproportionate impact on protected classes of individuals, e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and socio-economic class,” Michigan Advance reports.

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The Second Look Sentencing Act cleared the House committee last Tuesday on a part-line vote, with Democrats overruling all Republicans on the committee and victims of violent offenders who opposed.

“While I agree that our criminal justice system needs reform and revamping and many individuals are serving sentencing terms for non-violent crimes that are unjust, the answer is not to blindly open the floodgates for all,” Nicole Beverly, whose ex-husband is incarcerated for attempting to end her life in 2009, testified in March. “I am not sure when the focus turned so sharply from protecting victims of violent crimes, which includes providing them resources, shelter and other supports to instead cutting victim-related funds drastically, but I am gravely concerned about the impact this is already having on victims in our state.”

House Republicans offered a similar take following committee approval last week.

“Democrats on the House Criminal Justice Committee betrayed the trust of Michigan families … by ramming through two dangerous bill packages without transparency or accountability. These bills open the door for violent criminals, including rapists and murderers, to walk free after serving only a fraction of their sentences,” state Rep. Graham Filler, R-Duplain, said in a statement.

Filler cited both the SLSA, which was added to the committee agenda at the last minute, and a Juvenile Life Without Parole bill package, House bills 4160-64, which would allow murderers who were juveniles at the time of their crimes to be eligible for early parole.

The former “prioritizes leniency for criminals over the safety of our communities,” Filler said, while the latter “is not justice for the families who have lost loved ones to unthinkable acts of violence.”

“This isn’t criminal justice reform – it’s insanity,” said Filler, the Justice Committee’s minority vice chair. “And how did the Democrats push this through? By hiding it. These bills weren’t on the agenda, and sweeping changes were made at the eleventh hour, in the dark, without public input. This secretive process robbed the public of their right to weigh in on legislation that directly affects their safety.”

There’s similar concerns about early releases in the Senate, where Democrats on the Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety Committee overruled their Republican colleagues to approve Senate bills 861-64, which would allow inmates to cut up to 20% off their sentences for participating in educational or vocational programs.

“The Board recognizes the value in prisoners completing educational and other programs while incarcerated to prepare them to come home ready to work and live productive lives in their communities, and such program(s) are already currently being completed,” the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board wrote to lawmakers. “The additional incentives offered by SBs 861-864 in the form of ‘productivity credits’ are not needed and would harm victims.”

Regardless, Democrats are expected to continue to move the “criminal justice reform” bills over the final weeks of the lame duck session, Hope, chair of the House Criminal Justice Committee, told Michigan Advance.

Voters ended Democrats’ first government trifecta in 40 years when they flipped control of the House to Republicans last month.

The situation leaves Democrats about seven session days to approve legislation without Republican support, and the criminal justice bills are competing with a slew of other priorities, including driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, a potential gas tax hike, price controls, and numerous restrictions on gun owners.

Both the Second Look Act and Juvenile Life Without Parole bill packages are now awaiting votes by the full House, and both will need Senate approval before heading to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The productivity credits, likewise, were reported favorably to the Senate floor last week, and will need approval from the lower chamber if they clear the Senate.