Nearly 80 convicted of murder at 19 and 20 years old to be resentenced in Oakland County
Last spring, the Michigan Supreme Court found that people who were convicted of murder between the ages of 19 and 20 should be resentenced, rather than serve life in prison without parole.
Nearly 600 prisoners are up for resentencing across the state, and in Oakland County, there are 95.
"For over a decade, we have been grappling with the new standards for how we treat juveniles in the criminal justice system," said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.
On Tuesday, McDonald announced 79 prisoners are eligible for resentencing. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office says resentencing for those 79 eligible offenders has already begun.
"We are going to continue this work. Deadlines are important, but I'm not going to put a deadline above making sure that we make good decisions with all of the facts and the tools that we need to make those decisions," said McDonald.
The Supreme Court ruling called the original law a "violation" of Michigan's constitutional prohibition on cruel or unusual punishment, regardless of the date of the offense, adding that the cases should be reexamined because their brains weren't fully developed at the time.
Tina Olson, a managing attorney with the Juvenile Lifer Unit in the State Appellate Defender Office, says the decision doesn't minimize the crimes committed – or the victims impacted – but instead ensures defendants are given fair punishments.
"Our job is to represent our clients and the people that they were, and the people that they've become, and look at where they belong," said Olson.
In addition, the prosecutor's office also filed motions for 16 people, seeking more information in order to fully consider asking the court to uphold their current sentences ahead of the Jan. 5 deadline.
"That was basically our only option. We just do not have enough tools and information right now to make a good decision, and I'm never going to get rushed into making a decision, unless we're prepared to do that," said McDonald.