Challenge to juvenile life without parole advances in federal court

A federal judge has ruled that an American Civil Liberties Union suit that challenges Michigan’s juvenile life without parole sentences may proceed.

Children as young as 14 can be tried as adults and sentenced to life without parole in Michigan. The ACLU argues that such sentences constitute cruel and unusual punishment and are unlawful and the group challenged Michigan’s law on behalf of 13 people who are serving life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles.

In an order issued Tuesday U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O’Meara said that 12 of the plaintiffs had exceeded a three year statute of limitations and could not challenge their sentences. He allowed the case to proceed with one plaintiff, Keith Maxey, who was sentenced to life without parole at 16 for his role in a 2007 robbery.

Last year in Graham v. Florida the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life without parole sentences are unconstitutional when applied to juveniles convicted of crimes other than homicide.

The ACLU argues that all juvenile convicts should have the possibility of parole.

“Today’s ruling allows us to prove what many already know – sentencing children to die in prison without giving them an opportunity for parole is inhumane, unfair and unconstitutional,” said Deborah Labelle, attorney with the ACLU of Michigan’s Juvenile Life Without Parole Initiative. “By ignoring a child’s potential for rehabilitation and denying judges and juries any discretion, the state doles out unforgiving sentences that violate basic fairness and human rights principles. This decision is the first step toward correcting this fundamental injustice.”