BATTLE CREEK, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert issued a statement this weekend which blasts efforts by the Democrat controlled Michigan House and Senate to pass legislation that will eliminate the possibility of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for defendants under the age of 19 who are convicted of First Degree Murder.
The bills (Senate Bills 119-123 and House Bills 4160-4164) will also make these defendants eligible for parole after 10 years if the homicide is committed before their 19th birthday.
Gilbert said, “I as well as the vast majority of the 83 elected County Prosecutors (Democrats and Republicans) throughout Michigan are on the record opposing these bills. Michigan already has a workable framework for ensuring juveniles receive fair and just sentences, and existing Michigan law allows a sentence of life without parole for a juvenile in very limited situations.”
His statement went on to say that under these bills, violent offenders who will be eligible for release after serving 10 years.
According to Gilbert, “The number of victims doesn’t matter, nor does it matter how heinous the crime. If convicted, even the Oxford school shooter could be free in 10 years….Murder victims and their families deserve justice.”
