LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office is reevaluating formerly imposed life sentences for people who were 18 years old when their crime was committed.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled automatic life sentences for 18-year-old offenders unconstitutional in July 2022, requiring resentencing hearings for people convicted for a crime they committed when they were 18.
The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office announced that resentencing hearings are taking place on Monday in Ingham County Circuit Court for Terrence Taylor and Alexis Smith.
Taylor and Smith were both received convictions for murder in 2001 and 2000.
Three more resentencing hearings are pending for Darrell Braxton, William Johnson and Laverne Kindell.
Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane, who took over for retiring prosecutor Carol Siemon late last year, said his administration is focused on evaluating each of the cases individually before ruling out the life sentence.
“This office is not opposed to life sentences for first-degree murder,” Dewane said in the statement. “We respect the court’s decision that automatic life sentences are unconstitutional for 18-year-old offenders and believe a case-by-case analysis under the factors the court set forth is appropriate.”
Dewane said that consulting the survivors of victims is also necessary in deciding how to evaluate the formerly imposed sentences.
“While my office is bound by the stipulations signed by the prior administration, moving forward, surviving families will be consulted as required by the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and each case will be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine if the original sentence was appropriate,” he said in the statement.
