Focus More on Prevention and Prosecutors
BY LIZ BRATER
There are more than 350 people in the Michigan prison system who were under age 18 when sentenced to spend the rest of their life in prison without the possibility of parole. Many of them were abused or neglected as children. Many had emotional disorders. Many committed crimes with older codefendants who received lesser sentences. The United States stands alone in the industrialized world in allowing children to be sentenced to life without parole. Michigan ranks third among states that sentence children to life, just behind Pennsylvania and Louisiana. A package of bills that I have introduced in the Michigan Senate (a similar, pared-down package has received hearings in the House) would prohibit sentencing a juvenile to life without parole. These bills do not release a single felon. They allow those who were already sentenced to life in prison without parole to go before the Parole Board to have their case reviewed after 10 years.
According to National Institute of Mental Health studies, the brain of an adolescent continues to develop through age 25. The area governing reasoning, advanced thought and impulse control matures last, often causing youths to make decisions based on impulse and emotion, rather than logic. The acknowledgement of this difference in maturity, understanding and logic is what led us to have a juvenile justice system to begin with. There is no question that some of these children have committed heinous crimes. Each case needs careful review, and the safety of the public must be paramount. But how many of these crimes could have been prevented if an adequate mental health system were in place? We have heard numerous stories of parents recognizing that their child needed help, turning to the mental health system, and failing to get access to care.
Michigan law allows children to be tried as adults, with no minimum age. The prosecutor, rather than the judge, determines which youths will be tried as adults. Prosecutors are not the right people to make this decision. They like to run for re-election showing that they are "tough on crime." We need to revisit these laws also, and we should repeal them. Prosecutors also argue that this sentence prevents the practice of adults sending teens to execute crimes, knowing that they will do little time. If children are being used in this way, let's prosecute and punish the adults exploiting them. As a society, we have failed these kids. There are many early childhood education programs, including the Perry School in Ypsilanti, that are nationally recognized to reduce the chance that a child will end up in the criminal justice system in his or her teen years. These programs cost $10,600 per child, versus the $30,000 a year we spend per inmate. Similarly, community mental health care, at $8,000-$11,000 a year per client, depending on the county, is much more economical than prison.
BY KYM WORTHY
There has been much debate in the Michigan Legislature on the Juvenile Life Without Parole statute. For me, it's not just debate. As Wayne County prosecutor, I work with a team of dedicated professionals to prosecute 75% of all murder cases in Michigan. I face a difficult decision when it's a young adult who committed murder. We must take into account the devastation to a victim's family, to both families. Each time we must determine if a juvenile can be rehabilitated.
In the last three years, there have been 100 cases in which a juvenile could have been charged in Wayne County with life offenses. Over the same period, 451 juveniles were adjudicated as juvenile offenders. In the end, my office has charged only two juveniles as adults -- and in both cases the suspects had been offered and rejected plea deals. In this difficult decision, we carefully review the facts of the specific crime, the prior record, prior attempts by the court system to treat the juvenile before this incident, and the danger he or she presents to the public. Few cases generate more controversy than those in which a juvenile is charged as an adult for taking a life. Once a murder has occurred, there is a father, mother, wife, husband, child whose loved one was killed. Under the current law, the offender would have remained in prison for life for a first-degree murder conviction. If this bill passes, it would be retroactive; juveniles sentenced on first-degree murder cases would be eligible for parole after 15 years. We would be unleashing some of the most violent criminals back into the public.
In addition, we would be forcing the victims' families to re-live the ordeal of losing loved ones every year after 15 years, when the offenders are eligible for parole. Currently, our parole boards are not elected. They are accountable to no one in making the very important decisions about which criminals will be released. This is a harsh and unfair burden for the victims left behind and to the unsuspecting public. Why is it that the controversy of whether 16-year-olds should be sentenced to life without parole is only one part of the equation? The more compelling question is why juveniles are committing murder at such an astounding rate. The mounting evidence from the review of these cases shows that young people in our community are tragically impacted by the violence, crime and poverty surrounding them. They are too often the direct victims of crime.
Like other prosecutors across Michigan, I am active in the development and implementation of juvenile crime-prevention efforts. I join with law enforcement, child advocates, school officials, legislators and others to call for investment in programs such as child abuse prevention and early childhood development, and those that rehabilitate and reduce the number of youths who still commit crime. The facts and circumstances of the world in which some of our children are raised demand that we continue to work toward a community answer to the poverty, violence and despair.
Which person makes the stronger argument? Do you agree or disagree with Prosecutor Kim Worthy? Has either of them changed your mind?
I would really appreciate it, if anyone can help. Thank you
