juvenile offenders

When a young person gets in trouble with the law, it can have devastating consequences on their future. Pre-arrest deflection programs, like RAPID initiated by the Corner Health Center in partnership with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department, redirects youth to support resources, offering a meaningful alternative to becoming entrenched in the legal system. WEMU's Caroline MacGregor talked to Corner Health Center Justice Division program manager Degaryia Witten and Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer about the program, which offers deputies a direct pathway to help care for young people in the community.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office and Corner Health Center have joined forces to launch a pre-arrest program to prevent young people from entering the criminal legal system. WEMU’s Caroline MacGregor reports.

Michigan prosecutors are still asking for more time to respond to a recent state Supreme Court ruling that banned mandatory life sentences for 19- and 20-year-olds. Colin Jackson has more.

The Oxford High School shooter is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to let a new trial judge reconsider his life-with-out parole sentence. The shooter’s legal team says he was denied effective assistance of counsel. Rick Pluta has more.

A state House committee voted along party lines Wednesday for a bill to blunt the effects of a Michigan Supreme Court decision. The ruling says 19- and 20-year-olds cannot be automatically sentenced to life-without-parole. Rick Pluta has more.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for 19- and-20-year-old defendants violate the state Constitution. We have more from Rick Pluta.

More than 250 felons sent to prison for life with no chance of parole for crimes committed when they were 18 years old must have their sentences reviewed. That decision was released Wednesday by the Michigan Supreme Court. We have more from Rick Pluta.

14th District State Senator Democrat Sue Shink says she's looking at where she should be putting effort to effectively get legislation passed in a divided Legislature. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

A bill on its way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer would help ensure that juveniles accused of crimes have the same right to an attorney as adult defendants. We have more from Rick Pluta.

As you might imagine, those who are returning to the community after a period of incarceration face a good deal of prejudice and discrimination. That makes finding a job difficult and can result in higher recidivism rates. Billy Cole and Bryan Foley are working to not only change that but are trying to de-escalate community violence by addressing trauma and other factors that lead to incarceration. Billy and Bryan head an organization called Supreme Felons, and they share their personal stories that led them to professionally try and keep people out of the cycle of incarceration with WEMU's David Fair.