Kym Worthy: No Life Without Parole for Juveniles in Michigan

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    Kym Worthy: No Life Without Parole for Juveniles in Michigan

     

    Last year, the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn life without parole sentences for children and has given prosecutors across the country the opportunity to retry people who received this cruel sentence as a juvenile. At a total of 150, Wayne County, Michigan has the second largest amount of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences in the country.

    The Supreme Court tasked local prosecutors with holding re-sentencing hearings for the 2,500 Americans who had been serving life sentences for crimes they committed as children. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has a unique opportunity to resentence those who were sentenced as children to die in prison.   

    Unfortunately, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's July announcement that her office will seek life sentences for one in three of the 150 cases is concerning. Even if she only maintains JLWOP for 60+ people, Wayne County will still have more people serving JLWOP than the total JLWOP population in 43 other states. She can do better than this.

    Sentencing juveniles to life without parole is an extreme and cynical approach to justice. It goes against both scholarly research and our societal understanding of young people’s ability to change. Even though the actions many of these individuals were convicted for caused irreparable harm to their victims and their families, it does not make them unredeemable.

     

    Join us in calling on Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to commit to not pursue life without parole for juveniles.

    Here is the letter we will send to Wayne County District Prosecutor Kym Worthy on your behalf:

    Here is the Petition:

    Dear Prosecutor Kym Worthy,

    I am writing you regarding the more than 150 cases of individuals previously sentenced to life without parole as juveniles in Wayne County.

    Your recent announcement that your office will seek life without parole sentences for one in three of the 150 cases is concerning. Even if you maintain juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) for 60+ people, Wayne County will still have more people serving JLWOP than the total JLWOP population in 43 other states.  

    Sentencing juveniles to life without parole is an extreme and cynical approach to justice. It goes against both scholarly research and our societal understanding of young people’s ability to change. 

    We demand that you make a public commitment to not pursue life without parole sentences for juveniles.

    Thank you,


    [YOUR NAME]