SAGINAW (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from a man imprisoned for 35 years who is challenging mandatory life sentences for people who were 18 at the time of a murder.
Life sentences with no chance for parole are no longer mandatory for teenagers who were under 18 when the crime occurred. Robin Manning believes people like himself who were 18 should also benefit from a change in the law.
The state Supreme Court last week rejected Manning’s case on procedural grounds, 4-3. But it’s possible that the addition of a new Democratic justice, Elizabeth Welch, could change the outcome if his case or a similar one is filed in the future.
Three justices, including Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, were in favor of sending Manning’s case back to Saginaw County for an evidentiary hearing.
Manning, now 54, has been in prison for more than 35 years. He was 18 years and 3 months old in 1984 when he was present at a fatal shooting in Saginaw, although he wasn’t the shooter in that homicide.
Manning was convicted of first-degree murder and automatically sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole.
His attorney, Brittany Parling, said there is “no meaningful scientific difference” between an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old when it comes to brain development, taste for risk and an inability to fully understand consequences.
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