Keith Maxey.aspx.JPG

Keith Maxey

(Michigan Department of Corrections)

LANSING, MI -- All Michigan "juvenile lifers" deserve a shot at parole, according to U.S. District Court Judge John Corbet O'Meara, who said Monday that the state has an obligation to stop enforcing an unconstitutional law.

O'Meara released a similar order in January, but the office of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has argued that it should only apply to the five plaintiffs named in the federal suit.

The judge made clear that is not the case, explaining that his order should apply to every Michigan inmate currently serving a life sentence for a crime they committed as a minor, including first-degree murder.

"Defendants believe they may enforce the statute, which the court has declared unconstitutional, with respect to other juveniles sentenced to life in prison," O'Meara wrote. "As the court now makes clear, Defendants are incorrect."

Michigan is home to more than 350 prisoners who are serving mandatory life sentences for violent crimes they committed as minors, the second highest total in the nation. Some of those inmates were convicted of homicide but did not do the actual killing. They were found guilty of either aiding the act or involvement in a related crime, such as armed robbery.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a June 2012 ruling, declared mandatory sentencing schemes like Michigan's to be an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment that fail to take into account a young person's potential for character and cognitive development.

Justices did not indicate whether their ruling should apply retroactively to inmates already behind bars or be limited to future cases, and various courts around the country have wrestled with the question ever since.

Schuette, pointing to the impact that parole or resentencing hearings could have on victim families, has fought against retroactivity.

Spokesperson Joy Yearout said that Schuette "disagrees strongly" with O'Meara's ruling and noted that it is not a final order in the case. Once a final order is released, Schuette plans to appeal.

"The victims' families affected by this ruling tragically lost their loved ones to murder," said a statement from the attorney general's office. "Those victims don’t get to visit their brother or daughter or cousin in prison. They visit a gravesite.

"After these mothers, brothers and friends lost their loved one to murder, they went through the pain of a public trial. They finally experienced some closure when the murderers were convicted and sentenced."

Deb LaBelle, lead attorney for 22-year-old plaintiff Keith Maxey, called Monday's order a "read-my-lips" moment that reinforced O'Meara's earlier opinion. Maxey was 16 when he and two acquaintances set out to steal a pound of marijuana during a drug deal in Detroit. He was unarmed but was convicted of felony homicide after one of his partners killed shot and killed a man during the deal.

"I hope it's very clear that every (juvenile) in the state of Michigan who was sentenced to mandatory life without parole is now eligible for parole," LaBelle said.

Monday's order will not force the state to begin holding parole hearings for juvenile lifers. O'Meara previously asked attorneys on both sides of the case to describe what the parole process for juvenile lifers should look like and is expected to make his final determination soon.

In the meantime, LaBelle said that the state should start treating juvenile lifers as if they will become eligible for parole by offering them rehabilitation programming.

"There is a whole series of programs that prepare people for re-entry, but they've been denied it" she said. "Now they're entitled to it in the same manner as everyone else."

Separately, a group of state lawmakers has introduced a package of bills that would allow juvenile lifers to seek re-sentencing. The House Criminal Justice and Senate Judiciary committees are scheduled to hold a joint hearing on the legislation later this month.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.