Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; persons under the age of twenty-one; prohibited

COMMENTARY ON §706-674 Act 152, Session Laws 2025, added this section to prohibit sentencing defendants who were under the age of twenty-one at the time of the offense to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The legislature found that juveniles are psychologically and developmentally different from adults and these differences should be recognized by the legal system. Juveniles are extremely vulnerable to negative environments and are easily influenced by crime-producing influences; are less capable than adults to consider the long-term impact of their actions, control their emotions and impulses, or evaluate risks and reward; and do not have control over their living situations and may experience traumas that create environments susceptible to gang involvement or exposure to adult criminal behaviors. Neuroscience and brain development research has demonstrated that brain maturation continues through an individual's mid-twenties. The legislature believed that, due to the research supporting continued brain maturation through early adulthood, defendants under the age of twenty-one at the time of the offense who had committed a serious offense should have the opportunity for parole after establishing a clear pattern of rehabilitation as established by positive behaviors while in custody. Senate Standing Committee Report No. 1080, House Standing Committee Report No. 807, Conference Committee Report No. 54.