Reform plan treats 17-year-olds as minors in court system

State Rep. Daire Rendon has introduced legislation as part of a bipartisan plan to transform the way 17-year-olds are treated in Michigan’s criminal justice system.

Michigan is one of just four states to automatically prosecute 17-year-olds as adults when they’re accused of breaking the law. Rendon said eliminating this outdated practice will help rehabilitate young offenders and reduce the likelihood of them breaking the law again in the future.

“Seventeen-year-olds shouldn’t be in prison with full-grown adults,” said Rendon, of Lake City. “It’s not safe for them, and studies show young offenders have much better outcomes when subjected to age-appropriate resources aimed at rehabilitation.”

The proposal would raise the age at which individuals are considered adults for the purposes of prosecuting and adjudicating criminal offenses, allowing 17-year-olds to be treated as minors within the juvenile system in most circumstances. Prosecutors will continue to have some discretion, allowing them to waive minors who commit violent crimes into the adult system when appropriate.

The plan also establishes a funding mechanism to help local counties deal with the increased costs from the uptick of juvenile offenders in the system.

“In the long run, it’s better to invest tax dollars in rehabilitation programs that help teenagers and their families solve the root of their problems, rather than simply punishing them,” Rendon said. “This will make our communities safer by cutting down on repeat offenders.”

Rendon said no other state devotes a larger share of its budget to prisons than Michigan. In the 1970s – when Michigan’s prison population was merely 14,000 – corrections spending made up just 3 percent of the state budget. Today, about 20 percent of the general fund budget is now dedicated to corrections. Michigan’s current prison population is about 39,000.

House Bills 4133-46 have been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

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