House Judiciary hears emotional debate on bills to change resentencing for 19- and 20-year-olds and expand reentry supports

Representative (author of bills) told the House Judiciary Committee that the bills before it — including House Bills 45 06, 45 07 and 45 08 — are aimed at cases involving “the worst of the worst” among young adults and would preserve life-without-parole as an option while allowing consecutive sentences for multiple murders.

The package prompted extensive testimony from prosecutors, victims and defense and reentry advocates at the committee’s hearing. Jeff Gedding, Kalamazoo County prosecuting attorney and immediate past president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, said the bills are needed to ensure “victims count” when courts resentence people after recent Michigan Supreme Court rulings. “This package of bills continues that [life without parole] as an option,” Gedding said, and it “centers victims and provides realistic timeframes for making decisions” in retroactive resentencing cases.

Why it matters: Michigan courts’ recent rulings applying juvenile‑sentencing precedents to older teens and young adults have prompted thousands of resentencing proceedings statewide. Committee members were told hundreds of cases — including ones dating to the 1970s and 1980s — will require new hearings, some of which could lead to immediate releases from custody. Supporters said the bills lay out a sequence and sentencing ranges to prioritize victim input and public safety; opponents said the measures are likely to prompt new litigation and could violate constitutional protections for young people.

Supporters’ arguments and requests

Gedding and other supporters argued that the bills would allow judges to consider the full facts of multi‑victim crimes and avoid treating multiple murders as a single offense for sentencing. “When you have multiple murders, concurrent sentencing fails to take into account one of the victims,” Gedding…