By Liz Nass
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced Tuesday that the office determined 79 convicts with life sentences without the possibility for parole for crimes committed before the age of 21 will need to be resentenced.
This follows decisions in People v. Taylor and People v. Czarnecki in the Michigan Supreme Courtin April 2025, which established a ban on automatic life without parole sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds. It also required resentencing and the courts to review past sentences for mitigating factors of youth before deciding to issue a new life without parole sentence or one with a defined term of years.
The ruling also found that People v. Parks, decided in 2022, which extended the prohibition on automatic juvenile life without parole to 18-year-olds, was retroactive.
The prosecutor’s office reviewed 95 cases to comply with the decisions.
“The Supreme Court’s expedited timeline for reviewing these cases created challenges for everyone involved, especially for victims who were assured these cases had been settled many years ago,” McDonald said in a statement. “We believe our recommendations accurately reflect our best understanding of each case.
However, the order to review dozens of closed cases, some decades old, created a challenging process to ensure victims received justice.”
The office also filed motions for 16 convicts to get more information on their cases.
McDonald said the Supreme Court has created a high burden to maintain the sentences.
“Life without parole is reserved for only the worst crimes and is never given lightly,” McDonald said. “There are certainly a handful of these cases where resentencing seems appropriate. Unfortunately, with too many of these cases, we risk retraumatizing victims by allowing their loved one’s killer a chance at freedom because the burden placed on prosecutors and lower court judges is too high to keep them locked up.”
McDonald gave an instance in which the office decided to uphold the sentencing: Aaron Stinchcombe, who was convicted of killing and raping two 12-year-old girls after multiple other offenses prior to his conviction and poor behavior in prison. McDonald said it felt like “common sense” that he should never be released from prison.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced Tuesday that the office determined 79 convicts with life sentences without the possibility for parole for crimes committed before the age of 21 will need to be resentenced.
This follows decisions in People v. Taylor and People v. Czarnecki in the Michigan Supreme Courtin April 2025, which established a ban on automatic life without parole sentences for 19 and 20-year-olds. It also required resentencing and the courts to review past sentences for mitigating factors of youth before deciding to issue a new life without parole sentence or one with a defined term of years.
The ruling also found that People v. Parks, decided in 2022, which extended the prohibition on automatic juvenile life without parole to 18-year-olds, was retroactive.
The prosecutor’s office reviewed 95 cases to comply with the decisions.
“The Supreme Court’s expedited timeline for reviewing these cases created challenges for everyone involved, especially for victims who were assured these cases had been settled many years ago,” McDonald said in a statement. “We believe our recommendations accurately reflect our best understanding of each case.
However, the order to review dozens of closed cases, some decades old, created a challenging process to ensure victims received justice.”
The office also filed motions for 16 convicts to get more information on their cases.
McDonald said the Supreme Court has created a high burden to maintain the sentences.
“Life without parole is reserved for only the worst crimes and is never given lightly,” McDonald said. “There are certainly a handful of these cases where resentencing seems appropriate. Unfortunately, with too many of these cases, we risk retraumatizing victims by allowing their loved one’s killer a chance at freedom because the burden placed on prosecutors and lower court judges is too high to keep them locked up.”
McDonald gave an instance in which the office decided to uphold the sentencing: Aaron Stinchcombe, who was convicted of killing and raping two 12-year-old girls after multiple other offenses prior to his conviction and poor behavior in prison. McDonald said it felt like “common sense” that he should never be released from prison.
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