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Advocacy group seeks to Raise the Age at which young offenders face adult charges

Michigan is one of only four states that still automatically charge 17-year-olds as adults in the justice system, but there is an effort underway to change that.

According to the Michigan League for Public Policy’s Alex Rossman, 17 year olds “can’t vote, serve in the military, go to casinos or buy lottery tickets, but they can be sentenced to adult prisons–often for stupid things we all did at that age–doing irreparable harm instead of rehabilitating, and ruining these kids’ lives instead of reforming them.”

The Michigan League for Public Policy has launched a Raise the Age juvenile justice campaign, with the hope of changing the age at which a young person can be charged as an adult. The timing is critical on getting legislation passed so if you are of a like mind and want to be heard, Alex Rossman says you must contact your legislator by the end of December and urge them to support Raise the Age. For more information on how you can help move these bills, go to raisetheagemi.org/take-action.

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