Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Ryan Berman to end our state’s current policy requiring all 17-year-olds to be automatically tried as adults in Michigan’s criminal justice system has been signed by the governor.

Michigan was one of just four states still requiring all 17-year-olds to be automatically prosecuted as adults – even those who commit the most minor offenses. Berman explained with the elimination of this harmful and ineffective practice, young offenders have a better chance of rehabilitation while the likelihood of them breaking the law again in the future is reduced.

“Raising the Age will be consistent with how 18-year-olds are treated as adults in other areas of law,” said Berman, of Commerce Township, noting the 18-year-old threshold in Michigan for such things as voting and military service. “This new stipulation gives young offenders in Michigan – a group which the state has the responsibility to care for – a better chance to be rehabilitated and reintegrated successfully into society.”

Including 17-year-olds in the juvenile system has been shown to reduce reoffending by 34 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Minors serving time in adult prisons are also five times more likely to be sexually assaulted and 36 times more likely to commit suicide, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.

Berman’s new law updates the Juvenile Diversion Act to change the definition of a minor. The changes allow 17-year-olds to be treated as minors in most circumstances beginning Oct. 1, 2021. Prosecutors will continue to have discretion, allowing them to waive minors who commit violent crimes into the adult system when appropriate.

PHOTO INFORMATON: State Rep. Ryan Berman (third from left), of Commerce Township, attends a signing ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The legislation signed, including one authored by Berman, ends a requirement for all 17-year-olds to be tried as adults in Michigan’s criminal justice system.