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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.

- Read full court filing here. (PDF)

Associated Press writer contributed to this story.
 

 

 

   
 
 

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