Landmark ruling gives hope to youth sentenced to mandatory life

People v Taylor & People v Czarnecki, decided April 10, 2025

Today, Michigan joined a handful of states that recognize that young people have the capacity to change and should have the opportunity for freedom. 

Andrew Czarnecki and Montario Taylor each received a mandatory sentence of life without parole for offenses that occurred when they were 19 and 20 years old. Today, the Michigan Supreme Court held that subjecting anyone under the age of 21 to mandatory life without parole violates the Michigan Constitution and constitutes cruel punishment. Read the full opinion here.

This ruling is a result of years of litigation following Miller v Alabama, where the United States Supreme Court held that children cannot be subject to the harshest penalties possible under the law. This ruling recognizes that late adolescents—those into their 20s—share many of the same characteristics as their younger counterparts. 

Today’s decision is retroactive, and more than 580 Michiganders are now entitled to resentencing. The State Appellate Defender Office’s Juvenile Lifer Unit (JLU) will seek additional funding to represent as many of those people as possible in their upcoming resentencing hearings. 

Read SADO's full press release here. 

Information for individuals affected by these rulings is available here.