Michigan House Bills 4402-4405 Legislative Analysis - Proposes Abolishment of Juvenile Life Without Parole Sentences

Legislative Analysis
Mitchell Bean, Director

LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE: PROHIBIT FOR JUVENILES Phone: (517) 373-8080
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 4402 House Bill 4404

Sponsor: Rep. Paul Condino Sponsor: Rep. Mark Meadows
House Bill 4403 House Bill 4405

Sponsor: Rep. Virgil Smith Sponsor: Rep. Robert Jones
Committee: Judiciary
Complete to 1-22-08
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILLS 4402-4405 AS INTRODUCED 3-6-07
House Bills 4402-4404 would amend various acts to prohibit sentencing a juvenile
convicted of certain crimes to life without the possibility of parole and House Bill 4405
would revise parole eligibility for juveniles sentenced as adults. House Bills 4402, 4403,
and 4405 are tie-barred to each other and to House Bill 4404, but House Bill 4404 is not
tie-barred to the other three. Specifically, each bill would do the following:
House Bill 4402 would add a new section to the Michigan Penal Code (750.506b) to
specify that an individual who was less than 18 years of age at the time of committing a
crime could not be sentenced to imprisonment for life without parole eligibility for that
crime.
House Bill 4403 would amend Chapter XIIA of the Probate Code (MCL 712A.2d and
712A.18). Currently, if a juvenile is tried as an adult, the court may, after entering a
judgment of conviction and determining that the best interests of the public would be
served, impose any sentence upon the juvenile that could be imposed upon an adult
convicted of that crime. The bill would clarify that the sentence would have to be other
than imprisonment for life without parole eligibility. The bill would also make numerous
technical and editorial revisions.
House Bill 4404 would amend Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure (MCL
769.1 and 769.1b). Section 1 pertains to the authority of the court to pronounce judgment
against and pass sentence upon a person convicted in that court; a court must sentence a
juvenile convicted of certain crimes in the same manner as an adult, but has discretion in
other cases to either place the juvenile on probation and commit him or her to an
institution or agency described in the Youth Rehabilitation Services Act (a facility
operated by the Department of Human Services or a county juvenile agency) or to impose
any other sentence provided by law for an adult offender. Section 2 pertains to the court's
authority to determine whether the juvenile, after having been placed on probation and
committed to the juvenile justice system, has been rehabilitated and whether the juvenile
Analysis available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov Page 1 of 4

presents a serious risk to public safety; a court can, after a final hearing before the
probationary period ends, impose any other sentence provided by law for an adult
offender if it determines that by so doing, the best interests of the public would be served.
The bill would provide that in either of these situations, the court could not sentence an
individual who was less than 18 years of age at the time the crime was committed to
imprisonment for life without parole eligibility.
House Bill 4405 would amend the Corrections Code (MCL 791.234). Currently, a
prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life without parole eligibility will die in prison
unless he or she receives a reprieve, a commutation, or a pardon from the governor. In
general, a person sentenced to life imprisonment who is eligible for parole may be placed
on parole after serving 15 years of his or her sentence. All others must serve at least their
minimum sentence before being eligible for parole.
The bill would revise the parole eligibility criteria for certain juveniles sentenced as
adults. Under the bill, an individual who had been less than 18 years of age when the
crime was committed would be eligible for parole after serving 10 years of his or her
sentence. This would apply to 1) juveniles sentenced to serve a minimum term of
imprisonment of 10 years; 2) juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment; and 3) juveniles
sentenced to life imprisonment without parole eligibility.
In determining whether to release a person on parole under these new provisions, the
parole board would have to consider all of the following:
• The individual's age and level of maturity at the time of the offense.
• The individual's degree of participation in the offense.
• The nature of the offense.
• The severity of the offense.
• Any prior juvenile or criminal history.
• The likelihood of the individual to commit further offenses.
• Any other information considered relevant by the parole board.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bills could create savings for the Department of Corrections, and would have no
fiscal impact on local units of government. At present, limited data are available to
assess the potential fiscal impact of the bills.
The bills would:
• Forbid sentences of life without parole for offenders who were under age 18 at the
times of their offenses (HBs 4402, 4403, 4404). Savings would affect relatively
few prisoners and would begin to accrue upon the release of prisoners who
otherwise would have been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Analysis available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov HB 4402-4405 Page 2 of 4

• Extend parole eligibility to prisoners who were under age 18 at the time of their
offenses and who had served at least 10 years (HB 4405). Savings would depend
on the number of prisoners made eligible for parole and the decisions of the
parole board regarding those prisoners. Savings could begin to accrue
immediately upon the release of prisoners paroled under the bill. The greatest
impact would occur initially, when all affected prisoners who had served more
than ten years were made eligible. Each year thereafter, a much smaller number
of additional prisoners would reach the ten-year mark and become eligible for
parole.
New Sentences; Forbid Life without Parole for Offenders under Age 18
Over the past few years, the number of felons annually committed to the Department of
Corrections (MDOC) under sentences of life without the possibility of parole and who
were under age 18 at the times of their offenses have decreased from 10 in 2002 to 3 in
2005. Any savings would depend not only on the number of offenders who were
sentenced to parolable sentences instead of nonparolable life, but also on the time served
by those offenders, because savings would not begin to accrue until after the release of an
offender who otherwise would have been sentenced to nonparolable life. While the bills
would make such offenders eligible for parole after serving ten years, there are no data to
indicate what the average time to parole might be.
Assuming an average life expectancy of 70 to 75 years and an average appropriated cost

of imprisonment of roughly $30,000 to $35,000 per prisoner per year, the total cost of
incarcerating someone committed at age 17 or under may be said to be about $1.6 million
to $2.0 million. However, this includes various fixed costs associated with institutional
and departmental operations; savings attributable to the release of any one prisoner would
depend on the incremental costs of housing that prisoner.
Current Prisoners; Eligibility for Parole after Ten Years

According to the Department of Corrections, there are 992 prisoners sentenced for crimes
committed when under age 18 who have not yet become eligible for parole and have
served at least ten years on sentences of more than ten years (including parolable and
nonparolable life). Of those, 453 were sentenced to life terms (either with or without the
possibility of parole), and 539 were sentenced to terms of more than ten years. Data from
March 2007 suggest that of the 453 lifers, approximately 340 are serving life without the
possibility of parole. There are no data available at present on how many of these
prisoners are subject to multiple sentences, have felony firearm convictions, or have other
factors that might affect parole.
The numbers of prisoners released and consequent savings ultimately would depend on
parole board decisions on prisoners made eligible for parole. There are no data to
indicate how the parole board might respond to the prisoners made eligible by the bill.
The overall parole approval rate was about 52 percent in 2007. The parole approval rate
for violent offenders (other than sex offenders) was about 35 percent in 2006, the most
recent year for which such information is available. If 900 prisoners became eligible for
parole, and 25 to 35 percent of these were approved for parole, full-year savings under

the bill could be $3.4 million to $6.3 million, based on incremental incarceration costs of
roughly $15,000 to $20,000 per prisoner. Savings in the costs of incarceration would be
offset to some extent by the cost of parole supervision, which in turn would depend on
the level of supervision ordered.
Legislative Analyst: Susan Stutzky

Fiscal Analyst: Marilyn Peterson
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does
not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.

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Legislative Analysis

Mitchell Bean, Director

House Bill 4402 House Bill 4404

House Bill 4403 House Bill 4405

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILLS 4402-4405 AS INTRODUCED 3-6-07

Analysis available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov Page 1 of 4

The bills would:

Analysis available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov HB 4402-4405 Page 2 of 4

Assuming an average life expectancy of 70 to 75 years and an average appropriated cost

Current Prisoners; Eligibility for Parole after Ten Years

Analysis available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov HB 4402-4405 Page 3 of 4

Legislative Analyst: Susan Stutzky

Analysis available at http://www.legislature.mi.gov HB 4402-4405 Page 4 of 4

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