Post by Logan on Apr 21, 2016 0:15:45 GMT -6
Lansing — In the next few weeks, a Michigan Court of Appeals panel will take up the matter of whether a jury, not a judge, should determine whether a person under the age of 18 should be sentenced to life without parole.
The date of the legal hearing by seven judges has not been set, but it will lead to a decision anticipated by attorneys on both sides of the legal issue since it will affect more than 363 past convictions and untold ones moving forward.
Michigan does not have the death penalty but critics of juveniles sentenced to life without parole describe it as an enhancement amounting to the same thing. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a person under 18 to life in prison without parole constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” and requires a hearing. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled last year that a jury, not a judge, should make the determination in such sentences.
Special panels are convened once every two to three years, said John Nevin, spokesman for the Michigan Supreme Court. The last conflict panel was convened in 2013.
Read more: www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/04/20/juvenile-lifers-resentencing/83302148/
The date of the legal hearing by seven judges has not been set, but it will lead to a decision anticipated by attorneys on both sides of the legal issue since it will affect more than 363 past convictions and untold ones moving forward.
Michigan does not have the death penalty but critics of juveniles sentenced to life without parole describe it as an enhancement amounting to the same thing. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a person under 18 to life in prison without parole constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” and requires a hearing. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled last year that a jury, not a judge, should make the determination in such sentences.
Special panels are convened once every two to three years, said John Nevin, spokesman for the Michigan Supreme Court. The last conflict panel was convened in 2013.
Read more: www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/04/20/juvenile-lifers-resentencing/83302148/