Matthew Bentley was 14 years old in 1997 when he broke into a house he thought was unoccupied. While rummaging for valuables, he was confronted by the owner. Matthew shot and killed her with a gun he found in the house.

Luis L. is a lawful permanent resident from the Dominican Republic. As a young child, he moved with his family to Florida, where I interviewed him for a report by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch. Luis developed schizophrenia as a teenager, prompting trouble with the law. But fortunately, the judge presiding over Luis's criminal case recognized that Luis' behavior was connected to his disability and sent him to get mental health treatment.

Our justice system should be a place where freedom has no price and equality prevails. Sometimes reality falls short of these lofty goals, and it's often the most vulnerable who pay the price. This week we've been working hard to guarantee justice for all, representing five people thrown in jail simply for being poor. And they're not the only ones...

In a decision issued today, a federal judge has allowed a lawsuit challenging Michigan’s juvenile life without parole sentences to proceed. Today’s ruling allows the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan to prove that Michigan’s sentencing scheme that denies children a meaningful opportunity for parole constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and violates their constitutional rights.

Broken laws, broken lives, and a broken system. In this week's Rights Review, we hear what the former Mayor of Detroit thinks of our work. Also, are you mad about Michigan's law allowing discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity? 

Michigan News

Broken Lives and a Broken System

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan were in federal court today for arguments in a lawsuit on behalf of nine Michigan individuals who were sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed when they were minors and who are being denied the possibility of parole.

The U.S. is the only country in the world that sentences youth to life sentences without parole. Currently, there are 350 individuals in Michigan serving mandatory life sentences they received as minors, including more than 100 individuals who did not commit a homicide.

Each week, we run down the hot civil liberties stories in your Weekly Rights Review.

This week we cover counseling for LGBT high school students, the difference between a jail cell and a motel room, and the eternal question: who polices the police?

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan today filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine Michigan citizens who were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed when they were minors. The lawsuit charges that a Michigan sentencing scheme that denies the now-adult plaintiffs an opportunity for parole and a fair hearing to demonstrate their growth, maturity and rehabilitation constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and violates their constitutional rights.

“So just how many people are impacted by the State’s practice of unlawfully imprisoning indigent individuals who are unable to pay court ordered fees, fines and costs?”

I have heard this question a lot over the past couple of weeks, from reporters, from colleagues and from friends who have read the ACLU report about the rise of new debtors’ prisons.

On May 17, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for juvenile offenders who haven’t committed homicide to be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

This is very good news for children in our country.