Hundreds of convicted murderers in Michigan may soon be resentenced after the state supreme court ruled that imposing an automatic life sentence on "late adolescents" amounted to unconstitutionally "cruel" punishment.

Back in April, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 to ban an automatic life sentence for defendants who committed first-degree or felony murder at the age of 19 or 20. The court made a similar ruling about 18-year-olds in 2022. Michigan does not have the death penalty.

'19- and 20-year-old late adolescents are more similar to juveniles ... than they are to older adults.'

Writing on behalf of the all-Democrat majority, Justice Elizabeth Welch stated in the decision that the brains of 19- and 20-year-old murderers were too immature to receive the same sentence as older adults.

"As a class, 19- and 20-year-old late adolescents are more similar to juveniles in neurological terms than they are to older adults," Welch wrote. "There has long been a scientific consensus that, in terms of neurological development, there is 'no meaningful distinction' between a 17-year-old and 18-year-old individual. … But the lack of meaningful distinction does not stop at age 18."

The majority opinion expressed optimism that these murderers "are capable of significant change" and have "greater prospects for reform."

The majority also claimed that the automatic life sentence violated the Michigan state constitutional ban on "cruel or unusual punishment," a marked distinction from the prohibition in the U.S. Constitution against "cruel and unusual punishment."

Moreover, the majority of justices agreed with plaintiffs that by nature of their youth, young killers given an automatic life sentence unfairly receive longer sentences than older offenders who commit the same crime later in life. Welch called these sentences "harsh and disproportionate."

The majority made clear that the ruling applies to anyone automatically sentenced to life without parole for a murder committed when the defendant was 19 or 20. According to estimates, there are nearly 600 such convicted murderers currently in Michigan prisons, nearly half of them in Wayne County, home of Detroit, alone.

Jose Burgos, who served 27 years behind bars after he was sentenced for murder at 16, believes that automatic life sentences for young murderers are "horrible."

"As a juvenile lifer, as a child who went to prison, was [given] a life without parole sentence, I knew that the only way we were going to change that is that somebody who experienced that was going to have to come out here and explain to the people, explain to the state of Michigan, explain to this country, how horrible it is to sentence children to life without parole," said Burgos, who now advocates for "fair sentencing" for young offenders.

'These are all First-Degree Murder cases where these defendants were lawfully convicted.'

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the decision. The two dissenting justices, the only Republicans on the Michigan Supreme Court, argued that the majority focused too much on the offender and too little on the victim.

"While I recognize that it makes some sense to consider characteristics of the offender in an as-applied challenge, such as that here," wrote Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, "I believe the majority unjustifiably allows such considerations to loom so large in its analysis that the majority downplays the gravity of first-degree murder."

Justice Brian Zahra joined Clement in the dissent.

County prosecutors added that the ruling will revictimize grieving families.

Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks, president of the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association, claimed:

We’ve listened to survivors say they need certainty and finality in the sentences of the convicted criminals who took the lives of their loved ones. They have described the retraumatization that results from the never-ending litigation of these cases.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, a staunch Democrat, made a similar statement:

As has been the case with the MSC for years now, they do not seem to care about the plight of victims and the survivor families. These are all First-Degree Murder cases where these defendants were lawfully convicted. And we intend to be thoughtful and fair to each of these defendants. The WCPO is going to need a substantial amount of extra resources to be able to follow the dictates of the Court and do the right thing.

All 600 or so murderers must be reassessed on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, prosecutors will once again request a life sentence without parole. Others will be given a defined sentence of somewhere between 25 and 60 years.

Maya Menlo, an assistant youth defender with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, confirmed that resources will be devoted to resentencing these convicted murderers but argued that the expense is worthwhile.

"Yes, there will be court resources spent on resentencing these individuals, but the savings and the potential to avoid needless, inhumane incarceration is massive," said the female defender.

Worthy described the six-month timeline given by the court to complete this reassessment process as "untenable."

"The MSC gave us six months to review over 400 Wayne County cases," she said. "Justice cannot be fair with this timeline. We intend to be thoughtful in evaluating these cases."

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