News / FJP Releases

December 23, 2024 (LANSING, MI) — Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig released the following statement in response to companion amicus briefs the organization submitted to the Michigan Supreme Court in The State of Michigan v. Montario Taylor and The State of Michigan v. Andrew Czarnecki. 

In its brief, FJP noted controlling precedents set by both the United States Supreme Court and the Michigan Supreme Court finding that juvenile life without parole sentences violate state and federal constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In these past cases, courts have relied upon decades of sociological research and neuroscience showing that youth defendants have less capacity for risk assessment, emotional regulation, and impulse control. In its brief, FJP noted that these same challenges apply to young and emerging adults whose neurological development more closely mirrors those of teenagers than fully grown adults. FJP underscored the importance of rehabilitation in Michigan’s constitutional jurisprudence and highlighted how mandatory life-without-parole sentences for 19- and 20-year-old defendants like Mr. Czarnecki and Mr. Taylor adversely affects public safety. 

“The State of Michigan has firmly enshrined constitutional commitments to rehabilitation – a principle that is irreconcilable with any sentence mandating that young adults must die in prison regardless of their personal circumstances or subsequent reform and growth during incarceration. Mandatory life without parole sentences for young adults go against an overwhelming and incontrovertible body of well-established research demonstrating that young adults do not have the same fully developed judgement, emotional regulation, or risk assessment ability of fully grown adults. In fact, studies show that people “age out of crime” as their brains develop. Imposing mandatory life-without-parole sentences on 19- and 20-year-olds — who cannot legally drink or even independently rent a vehicle — is an obviously cruel and unjust form of punishment that should be deemed unconstitutional by Michigan’s Supreme Court.” 

Background

In 2023, the Michigan Department of Corrections spent over $1.6 billion to operate over two dozen facilities, equating to $48,000 per prisoner annually. Roughly $173 million of that was allocated to incarcerating individuals serving life without parole. The costs are even higher for older adults, who are more likely to experience chronic health issues, mobility challenges, and other age-related conditions that require costly medical care, including treatment for hearing and vision loss.

Currently, more than 800 individuals in Michigan are serving life without parole for crimes committed before the age of 21, with close to 900 individuals serving the same sentence for crimes committed before the age of 25. Together, these groups account for nearly half of the state’s entire life without parole prison population. This is despite extensive scientific evidence, supported by state and federal case law, demonstrating that young people have a heightened capacity for rehabilitation.

Racial disparities in these sentences are stark. Although Black people make up only approximately 12 percent of Michigan’s overall population, they represent 68 percent of those serving life without parole. The disparity is even more pronounced among young adults. Of those serving life without parole for crimes committed before the age of 25, 75 percent are Black. Among individuals who were 19 or 20 years old at the time of their offense 76 percent are Black. These figures reveal systemic racism and a sentencing structure rooted in discrimination rather than culpability.