Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette apologized to two journalists who were slapped with subpoenas by his office for news gathering on allegations of juvenile prisoner abuse in state prisons, reports the Detroit News. Schuette said he called Huffington Post reporter Dana Liebelson and Michigan Radio host Cynthia Canty to apologize for subpoenas sent to them by staff attorneys for information they obtained from plaintiffs and an attorney suing the Department of Corrections.
“I said I was sorry and there’s no excuse for that,” Schuette said last night. “It should not have happened. It will not happen again.” Liebelson disclosed the two subpoenas she was served during interviews with inmates last Thursday and Friday at state prisons in Ionia and Lapeer. Schuette ordered the subpoenas immediately withdrawn Monday, the day the third subpoena arrived at Michigan Radio’s office seeking “complete and unedited” audio and video recordings of a March 3 interview of an Ann Arbor attorney representing inmates who are suing the state for alleged sexual and physical abuse sustained as juveniles.