The Michigan House and Senate are poised to pass legislation (Senate Bills 119-123 and House Bills 4160-4164) that will eliminate the possibility of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for defendants under 19 years of age convicted of our State's most serious crime, First Degree Murder. These bills will also make these defendants eligible for parole after 10 years if the homicide is committed before their 19th birthday. I as well as the vast majority of the 83 elected County Prosecutors (Democrats and Republicans) throughout Michigan are on the record opposing these bills. Michigan already has a workable framework for ensuring juveniles receive fair and just sentences, and existing Michigan law allows a sentence of life without parole for a juvenile in very limited situations.

First Degree Murder encompasses situations where the murder is either (1) deliberate, intentional and premediated, (2) during the perpetration of a listed felony [such as first degree criminal sexual conduct, i.e., rape], or (3) the murder is of a police or corrections officer performing their duty. For adult defendants, the penalty is life without the possibility of parole. For juveniles, current law requires the court conduct a sentencing hearing on any defendant convicted of First-Degree Murder if the homicide occurred prior to their 18th [not 19th] birthday to determine whether they should receive life without parole or a sentence to a term of years. Life without parole may only be allowed in the most heinous of cases.

Under these bills, violent offenders will be eligible for release back into our communities after serving 10 years. This includes offenders like Federico Cruz, who videotaped himself with the severed head of a teenager he had beheaded, or Michael Kvam, who raped and killed a woman, her 9-year-old daughter and 15-year-old niece. The number of victims doesn't matter, nor does it matter how heinous the crime. If convicted, even the Oxford school shooter could be free in 10 years.

Murder victims and their families deserve justice. I and other Michigan Prosecutors are asking the people of our communities to contact their senators and representatives to voice opposition to these bills, and to keep our communities safe by keeping those who commit the most heinous of crimes locked up.