The
Supreme
Court
ruled
this
week
that a
mandatory
life
sentence
without
parole
is
unconstitutional
for
juveniles.
See the
subject
of that
decision,
14-year-old
Evan
Miller,
and
other
offenders
who are
likely
to be
affected
by the
court’s
ruling.
(AP
Photo)
Juvenile
lifers
win
another
key
ruling
over
behavior
credits
By
Wendell
Bryant
Tell Us
Detroit
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
The U.S.
6th
Circuit
Court of
Appeals
late
today
refused
to grant
the
State of
Michigan’s
request
for a
14-day
stay so
it could
appeal
last
week’s
decision
by U.S.
District
Judge
Mark
Goldsmith
ordering
the
state to
reinstate
good
time
credits
for
inmates
who were
sentenced
as
juveniles
to
mandatory
life
prison
sentences
for
first-degree
murder.
The
appeals
court
said it
would
consider
the
state’s
appeal
on an
expedited
basis
but said
the
appeal
is
unlikely
to
succeed
on the
merits.
A judge
recently
struck
down a
law that
retroactively
cut off
good
behavior
or
discipline
credits
for
prisoners
who were
convicted
of
committing
murder
when
they
were
teens.
An
appeals
court on
Wednesday
declined
the
state’s
request
to
freeze
that
decision.
Circuit
Judge
Jane
Stranch
stated,
"The
instant
appeal
concerns
the
district
court's
resolution
of the
parties'
competing
motions
for
summary
judgment
on Count
V of the
Second
Amended
Complaint,
which
count
alleges
that the
elimination
of good
time
credits
and
disciplinary
credits
by Mich.
Compo
Laws §
769.25a(6)
violates
the Ex
Post
Facto
Clause
of the
United
States
Constitution."
The
court
also
says the
state
appears
unlikely
to win
an
appeal
in the
months
ahead.
The
court
says
federal
Judge
Mark
Goldsmith’s
April 9
decision
was
“thoughtful
and
well-reasoned.”
Briefs
are due
in May
and
June.
If
Goldsmith’s
ruling
holds,
it would
mean
earlier
parole
hearings
for many
prisoners
previously
known as
juvenile
lifers.
The
decision
only
affects
inmates
who were
convicted
of
murders
that
occurred
before
1999.