Legislation re-examines juvenile life-without-parole sentences

Elizaeth Rewer and Michael Livingston Michael.Livingston@interlochen.Org, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read
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Mar. 11—LANSING — More than a decade passed since life without parole sentences for juveniles were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The landmark case Miller v. Alabama held that sentencing someone under 18 to a life behind bars was cruel and unusual punishment.

But the judges left the door open for judicial discretion. That means it's still up to states to decide.

Currently, in half the country, including Michigan, mandatory sentencing is still a possibility for juveniles.

But legislation has now been introduced in both the state House and Senate that would abolish life without parole for juveniles under the age of 19 — aligning Michigan with the nearly decade-old national precedent.

Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, helped introduce the package of five bills which he said he hopes will keep Michigan from lagging behind the 25 other states that have already abolished juvenile life without parole.

"We're proposing to change juvenile sentencing going forward, so that it would be a parole review at 10 years. And those sentences would span from 10 years to 60 years," Irwin said.

Irwin has helped introduce similar legislation before. Last year, Senate Bills 848 — 851 were introduced to eliminate juvenile life without parole, but they never made it out of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.

The action has bipartisan support with state Rep. Curt Vanderwall, R-Ludington, helping to introduce similar legislation in the House.

Both sets of bills were referred to their respective committees for review. In the Senate, they're in the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, in the house; the Criminal Justice Committee.

Civil rights attorney Deb LaBelle of the Juvenile Life Without Parole initiative is among many others who have been advocating for years for these reforms.

"They do grow up," LaBelle said of these juveniles. "And, if they don't, the parole board has the ability to keep them in, if they see there's any risk.

"Some of them are doing spectacularly, amazingly, after spending decades in prison."

According to data Labelle collected, nearly 300 inmates would be affected by the legislation with some of those sentences going back more than 40 years.

None of the inmates are from any northern Michigan courts. Court officials confirmed that, currently, there is no one from the five-county region around Grand Traverse County who is serving a life-without-parole sentence that was received as a minor.

However, Grand Traverse County Probate Court Judge Jennifer Whitten said it's important for everyone in the state to keep the focus of what juvenile detention is in mind with potential new legislation.

"The purpose of the juvenile justice system is for rehabilitation, and so, I think it's important that always be the focus," she said. "The Supreme Court has already determined that the life without parole is inappropriate, so I think it makes sense that the Legislature look at the laws that address that issue."

Labelle said it's a question of morality.

"Do we really see our kids as incapable of redemption or change or reformation? It's always bothered me what that says about us," she said. "Are we unwilling to look at them and ask, who have they become? What have they done with themselves now that they're out of a sometimes toxic environment?"

Mike Livingston is a Report for America corps member and Mackinac Straits Bureau reporter covering rural life in northern Michigan. Reach him at michael.livingston@interlochen.org.