Eight months have passed, but no one knows what to say to those sitting behind bars with a little hope...but no answers.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that children who commit crimes can't be sentenced to mandatory life without parole when they ruled on Miller V. Alabama. Yet, despite the verdict that their sentences are cruel and unusual, the fate of Michigan’s 361 juvenile lifers still remains undecided.
While the ruling makes it clear that juvenile life sentences, states are wondering whether this should affect those already sentenced.
The question now is whether children sentenced to die behind bars before this ruling now have a glimmer of hope: a parole hearing to determine if they are rehabilitated and have a chance at a life outside of prison.
Here in Michigan, it's time to put that question to rest.
Eastern District Judge John Corbett O’Meara recently issued an opinion that states, in part, “if ever there was a legal rule that should – as a matter of law and morality – be given retroactive effect, it is the rule announced in Miller.”
Judge O'Meara points out that if it is unconstitutional to sentence children to life in prison in the future, this should be affect people who were sentenced as children under the same logic in the past. “To hold otherwise would allow the state to impose unconstitutional punishment on some persons but not others, an intolerable miscarriage of justice,” O’Meara wrote.
These are serious crimes involving a loss of life, and that should never be minimalized. However, just allowing a review of these sentences is certainly no guarantee of release.
At the center of all this is the simple reality that children are not adults. Before tossing the entire future of a young person away, we must take a moment to consider the factors that weigh heavy on children: their home environment, immaturity, failure to appreciate risks and consequences.
The decision by the Supreme Court is clear that mandatory life sentences for children are a violation the Eighth Amendment, and Judge O’Meara’s ruling backs that up.
Our legislature must now work to respect the ruling and acknowledge the 361 who have sat behind bars with no hope of release must be answered. There is no question of what the future must bring, and no justifiable reason for continuing to delay bringing our state into the present.
By Rodd Monts, Field Organizer