MI High Court Voids Automatic Life Without Parole For 19-, 20-Year-Olds

The Michigan Supreme Court struck down automatic, no-parole prison terms for 19-year-olds and 20-year-olds convicted of murder. As a result, hundreds of people will be eligible to return to court to ask for a shorter sentence and an opportunity for freedom. Anguished friends and relatives of murder victims will have to revisit the cases, too. The Supreme Court, in a 5-2 opinion last week, said mandatory life sentences for people who were 19 and 20 at the time of the crime violate a ban against “cruel or unusual punishment” in the Michigan Constitution, the Associated Press reports. The court issued a similar ruling for 18-year-olds in 2022. A mandatory life sentence “that does not allow for consideration of the mitigating factors of youth or the potential for rehabilitation is a grossly disproportionate punishment,” Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote.

Michigan was among 16 U.S. states that impose mandatory life terms on anyone convicted of first-degree murder who was over 18, according to the MacArthur Justice Center. A life sentence in Michigan still can be possible for someone 19 or 20, though it will be rare. Prosecutors must show that someone convicted of murder should never get a chance at parole. Judges would hear evidence about family life, mental health, education and other factors, the same process followed for people 18 or under. Welch said the court’s decision was rooted in scientific research about brain development and a young person’s ability to fully grasp the consequences of their actions. “As late adolescents mature into fully developed adults, they become less prone to reckless decision-making, more likely to consider and appreciate consequences, and less susceptible to peer pressure,” Welch said In a dissent, Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement said lawmakers, not the court, should decide whether to change the law. Since 2021, courts or lawmakers in Washington state, Illinois and Massachusetts have prohibited life sentences for people under 21 or made parole opportunities available.