The package would set the new maximum sentence for youths at 60 years, with a chance for parole after 10 years.
Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan President-elect Jeff Getting says that’s too short for extreme cases, like school shootings.
“Regardless of the number of persons killed or the planning that went into it … that murderer would have a parole hearing in ten years.”
But Democratic Representative Amos O’Neal says that doesn’t mean they’d get out.
“The decisions are still left up to the parole office—the board. So a lot of folks have this misnomer that after 10 years, this person’s going to be free. That’s not the case.”
O’Neal says changes to the bills could come.