To the Journal editor:

After the U.S. Supreme Court declared mandatory life without parole sentences imposed on youth 18 and under violated the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, our Legislature went to work to bring Michigan into compliance.

It passed a law affecting youth convicted after the court’s Miller ruling calling for an individualized sentencing review by a judge.

The Legislature stepped back from making the new law applicable to those sentenced to MLWOP before the 2012 Miller ruling because the Michigan Supreme Court had taken up the issue.

We were among a group of 110 former judges, prosecutors, state bar presidents and former Gov. William Milliken who submitted an amicus brief asking the MSC to apply the sentencing review required by Miller to those sentenced as youth to MLWOP.

With the MSC’s work complete, the Legislature must finish what it started by addressing the MLWOP sentences being served by 360 Michiganders.

It’s already recognized that MLWOP sentences for teens violate our Constitution’s 8th Amendment so it’s tough to see how the Legislature can fix the defective sentence for some but leave it in place for others.

Whether youth have an opportunity for parole shouldn’t depend on whether they were convicted the day before the Miller ruling came down or the day after.

The constitutional principles upon which our nation is built requires that when something has been deemed unconstitutional, the government must correct that mistake.

We urge the Legislature to act.

Beth LaCosse, Marquette

Ron Keefe, Marquette