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Michigan Supreme Court Ruling Allows Resentencing for 600 Juvenile Lifers
In a 5-2 decision, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that individuals sentenced to life without parole for murders committed between ages 19 and 20 must be resentenced, extending a 2022 ruling for 18-year-olds.
The court found that such sentences violate Michigan’s constitutional ban on “cruel and unusual” punishment, citing research that the human brain isn’t fully developed until age 25.
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This landmark ruling, which applies retroactively, affects nearly 600 people, including 285 in Wayne County, who were convicted as juveniles.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy criticized the court’s six-month timeline to review over 400 cases, calling it “untenable” and noting the strain on resources. She emphasized the need to review trial records, medical documents, and contact victims’ families, arguing the court disregards survivors’ plight in these first-degree murder cases.
Conversely, Maya Menlo of the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office supported the ruling, highlighting the potential to avoid “needless, inhumane incarceration” while ensuring fair sentences. She noted that victims’ perspectives vary, and the oldest inmate eligible for resentencing is 80, with the group having served nearly 8,000 years combined.
The decision has sparked debate. Blue Lives Matter, a pro-law enforcement group, labeled the affected individuals “straight up killers” in a May 10 X post, urging followers to “REPOST this EVERYWHERE.” Some X users, like @Jennifer4coffee, called it a Democratic voter recruitment tactic, while @CalebGiese344 questioned the opposition. Jose Burgos, released in 2018 after 27 years for a crime at 16, shared his experience, stating, “It’s horrible to sentence children to life without parole.”
The ruling aligns with prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions like Miller v. Alabama (2012), which banned mandatory life without parole for those under 18, emphasizing juveniles’ capacity for reform.
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