By Derek Linkous and Susan McKeever
BridgeTower Media Newswires
David Bennett was just 17 years old in 1972, when he was consigned to die in prison, having been given a mandatory life-without-parole sentence for his crime.
Evidence from the time showed that he committed his crime while suffering from an undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. Despite the court telling him he would never be a free man again, Bennett spent the next nearly 50 years bettering himself — getting a college degree, obtaining multiple trade certificates, holding steady employment and voluntarily treating his mental health.
So, in 2012, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles to be unconstitutional and directed trial courts to consider whether each individual juvenile offender was irreparably corrupt, Bennett’s clear record of rehabilitation seemed to favor a non-life sentence.
When he was finally given his Miller hearing in 2019, however, the now-mid-60s cancer survivor was resentenced to life without parole based solely on the resentencing judge’s speculative fear that if Mr. Bennett were released from prison he might lapse in his mental health treatment and might re-offend.
As attorneys, we understood that although his crime was unacceptable, Bennett’s mental health was unjustly being used against him — motivating us to represent him and take on his appeal pro bono.
The disconnect between mental health treatment and the criminal justice system — especially among juveniles — is an issue that needs more attention from multiple stakeholders. Criminal justice systems face significant challenges in addressing the mental health needs of the accused and the convicted.
According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than half of those incarcerated in the United States have recorded mental health issues. As Disability Rights Michigan, our amicus curiae in the Michigan Court of Appeals, pointed out:
Without treatment, mental health conditions can linger or worsen, especially in isolated or chaotic environments like prison, increasing the likelihood of these individuals committing additional crimes and being wrapped into an endless cycle of incarceration. And we believed that increasing a person’s punishment because of mental health issues offends the Constitution and basic decency.
Individual and systemic issues alike should motivate attorneys to answer the call for pro bono service. We believe that providing some service-oriented representation should be a part of every attorney’s practice.
There are many great organizations to get attorneys connected with clients who have legal needs. Some, like our firm’s pro bono partner Project Clean Slate, require a relatively minimal time commitment but make significant and lasting impacts on the clients served.
As for Bennett, the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with us on appeal and held that imposing a life-without-parole sentence based upon mental illness was unconstitutional. The appeals court directed that Bennett be resentenced to a term of years, on the existing record, “with all deliberate speed.”
We are privileged to have represented Bennett. And we want to encourage others to embrace pro bono work and to fight for what is right regardless of who their client is.
It is important to represent the underrepresented in cases like this. There are many people wrongfully suffering in the criminal justice system that lack the resources to deal with it. And, as we have found, there is also tremendous satisfaction in contributing to a positive change in the law — here, the way the criminal justice system addresses juvenile crime and mental illness —and in making a real, tangible change to your client’s life.
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Derek Linkous is a partner at BSP Law in Troy, and currently serves as the Appellate Practice co-chair of the Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Susan McKeever is counsel at BSP Law, and currently serves as the Complex Litigation Committee co-chair of the Federal Bar Association for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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