State files lawsuit for assets of imprisoned author

KALAMAZOO (AP) — Michigan wants the assets of a prisoner who has written a book of short stories about life behind bars.

The state filed a lawsuit against Curt Dawkins in October, seeking 90 percent of his assets, The Detroit News reported. The lawsuit points to a law that allows assets to be seized to reimburse the state for housing a prisoner.

Dawkins, 49, is serving a life sentence for the fatal shooting of a Kalamazoo man, Tom Bowman, while on drugs in 2004. He’s at a prison in Coldwater.

“It seems callous to take money from an education fund for kids when they’re already lost their father for the past 13 years,” said Dawkins, whose writing has eased the burden of living in prison.

His three children, ages 17 to 22, say the lawsuit is unfair. Money from sales of “The Graybar Hotel” was intended to help them pay for school.

The lawsuit doesn’t list the overall cost of keeping Dawkins in prison so far, but the state said it would file an affidavit with the amount. It costs roughly $35,000 a year, according to the Corrections Department.