PORT HURON (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court says it will settle whether juries — not judges — have the sole power to decide whether someone under 18 gets life in prison without parole.
In an order released Wednesday, the court will take the case of Tia Skinner, who was a 17-year-old honors student in St. Clair County when she plotted to have her father killed in 2010.
Skinner is serving a no-parole sentence.
Lawyers representing teens convicted of murder have argued that Michigan juries needed to make a specific determination that someone had no hope of being rehabilitated and deserved a no-parole sentence.
There have been conflicting opinions on that point at the state appeals court. The court in 2016 created a special panel, which said the sentencing duty rests with trial judges.
- Posted January 30, 2017
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
State high court to determine whether juries sentence teens
headlines Macomb
- Former public defender moves on to private sector
- Governor signs legislation reforming Michigan’s juvenile justice system
- Michigan voters start casting cast ballot in person at early voting sites
- Chinese National pleads guilty in $80,000 fraud scheme targeting Macomb senior
- Macomb County board of commissioners adopts resolution authorizing intervention in DTE Electric Co. rate increases
headlines National
- How to use AI but steer clear of hallucinated cases
- Lawyers for low-income clients strike in NYC
- Top prosecutor for International Criminal Court accused of sexual misconduct
- Big Tech companies facing new wave of lawsuits over copyright and AI
- Lawyer says he was ‘manic’ when he bought Cape Cod mansion in danger of falling into ocean
- Judge regrets ‘entitled little snot’ comment but still fit for the bench, lawyer says
