Hundreds of juvenile murder inmates May be resentenced in Ingham County

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned decades of legal precedent by ruling that mandatory "life without parole" prison sentences for juvenile defendants are unconstitutional, as they violate the eight amendments prohibition of "cruel and unusual" punishment. Then, in late July, the Michigan Supreme Court took that a step further and ordered that the case files of juveniles convicted of second degree murder and long prison sentences must also be reviewed.

Kent County Prosecutor and former President of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, Chris Becker, said the order represents an enormous workload and that there has been very little direction provided to Michigan's 83 county prosecutors. "There are absolutely no guidelines. There's no rhyme or reason," Becker said. The state Supreme Court's opinion, issued in April, doesn't provide sentencing recommendations, essentially leaving the fate of hundreds of Michigan prison inmates squarely on the shoulders of county prosecutors and circuit court judges.

Putman, who was high on drugs at the time and had a history of mental illness, says he panicked when he realized the infant was dead. He took a plea deal of second degree murder and was sentenced to 30‑60 years behind bars. Now, for the first time after more than three decades behind bars, Putman is hopeful a judge will decide, based on the state Supreme Court's new determination, he's spent enough time in prison.

However, Becker says the families of the victims are not being considered when it comes to possibly releasing inmates who committed murder when they were under 18. He says many of them knew right from wrong before they committed their crimes, and releasing them now could re-traumatize the victim's surviving family members. "It's not a matter of is the brain fully formed," Becker said. "Is it formed enough to know you shouldn't kill people. All these decisions, everything that's coming down, especially from the Michigan Supreme Court, victims are being forgotten."

Read the full story at wwmt.com.