Michigan prisoners serving life without parole for crimes committed when they were juveniles may become eligible for release under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that struck down such sentences as unconstitutional.
The precise implications of the decision for Michigan's juvenile lifers won't be known for some time, and will vary depending on the circumstances of the crime and the inmate, legal experts told the Free Press.
But the high court ruling has potentially far-reaching effects, both on those convicted as juveniles in the past and on any juveniles who will face charges in the future, said Dan Korobkin, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.
"Judges will need to give individualized consideration in every case to the defendant's youth and level of maturity," Korobkin said.
The state Department of Corrections said after the decision was released in Washington that Michigan has 182 inmates who are serving no-parole life sentences for crimes committed when they were between the ages of 15-17. MDOC officials earlier said the number was about 350, but revised it downward late Monday without explanation.
The Supreme Court, in a pair of cases involving 14-year-olds convicted of murder in Alabama and Arkansas, struck down as cruel and unusual state requirements that judges impose mandatory life terms for someone, including a juvenile, convicted of certain crimes.
Legal experts consulted by the Free Press said most, if not all, prisoners who were convicted as juveniles and sentenced to mandatory life sentences will have to be re-sentenced. Many will likely become eligible for parole review and possible release, they said.
The 5-4 decision is in line with others the court has made, including ruling out the death penalty for juveniles and life without parole for young people whose crimes did not involve killing.
But the trend remains deeply controversial. National victims' rights groups said revisiting criminal cases that have been closed for years can be deeply painful to the families of victims.
Steve Babcock, a Genesee County father whose 24-year-old daughter was killed by a 12-year-old in Detroit in 2009, said he understood the court's reservations about mandatory sentencing for juveniles. Other options should be available in those cases in which the accused juvenile was an aider and abettor rather than the killer, he said.
"But when you look somebody in the eyes ... when you murder somebody, that's when you become an adult," Babcock said. "The sad thing is that this will re-traumatize and re-victimize all these families."
Korobkin said the ruling is likely to directly affect a case filed in federal court in Detroit in which the ACLU is asking the federal court to review the sentencing of Henry Hill, 47, formerly of Saginaw. Hill was convicted more than three decades ago for his involvement in the murder of an 18-year-old. The killer in that instance was Hill's cousin, and he was seen running away from the scene at the time the fatal shot was fired.
Korobkin said he received a call from the court Monday afternoon to schedule a status conference on the case.
According to the MDOC figures released Monday afternoon, there are no prisoners in Michigan serving mandatory life sentences for crimes committed at 14. But 12 Michigan prisoners are serving such terms for crimes committed at 15, and 46 for crimes committed at 16. The current ages of those sentenced as juveniles range from 16-65, with the average 36, MDOC officials said.
Advocates for reform of juvenile lifer laws have said repeatedly that Pennsylvania is the only state with more prisoners than Michigan who are serving life sentences for crimes committed as juveniles.