Editorial: Finally, an end to juvenile life without parole in Michigan

August 14, 2013

The Detroit Free Press expressed its strong support for a federal court ruling that all children who receive a life sentence in Michigan are eligible for parole consideration. Michigan has the country’s second highest number of children serving death-in-prison sentences. This ruling brings Michigan closer to the ideal of holding children accountable in age-appropriate ways that focus on rehabilitation and re-integration into society.”

“It’s amazing that this state ever looked at young people, no matter how horrid their crimes, and decided that they were lost causes who needed to be behind prison bars for an eternity,” the Free Press said. “That speaks volumes about how far our culture has veered from the tenets of nurture and forgiveness, and toward intolerance and punishment. And let’s be clear: About half of those incarcerated for life as juveniles didn’t kill anyone; rather, these kids were aiders and abettors.”

Read the editorial