A state House committee voted Wednesday to advance legislation to blunt the impact of a Michigan Supreme Court decision on automatic life-without-parole sentences for young adults.

The bills could allow for longer sentences for 19- and 20-year-olds convicted of first-degree and felony murder, among other serious crimes, and allow prosecutors more time to review cases for potential resentencing.

“Life without parole was not given out lightly to begin with,” said Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Springport), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and sponsored the bills. “You have to remember these people are murderers.”

The court ruling released in April struck down automatic life without parole for 19- and 20-year-olds convicted of first-degree and felony murder as unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. It followed a similar ruling applying to defendants 18 years old and younger.

Now, people who already got mandatory life sentences are being resentenced. Sometimes, that will be to multiple shorter prison terms. The current default in Michigan is for sentences to be served concurrently.

Lightner said concurrent prison terms are not tough enough. “There’s only justice given to the first victim,” she told Michigan Public Radio. “There’s nothing in law that says you have to stack the sentences consecutively, because we have concurrent sentencing.”

Consecutive years-long sentences would effectively be life in prison in some cases.

Deborah LaBelle, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said the Michigan Supreme Court decision is clear on young lifers. She said sentences of life with no chance of parole for young defendants should be rare.

“They should, when they have had the opportunity to mature and grow, be looked at again and determined whether in fact they have been rehabilitated and should be able to at some point rejoin the community,” she said.

LaBelle says the legislation would probably be found unconstitutional if signed into law because it would force consecutive sentences automatically without court hearings.

The bills, which now go to the House floor, were adopted on party-line votes.

The National Weather Service briefly issued a Tornado Warning just after 1 p.m. on Wednesday for parts of Macomb and Oakland counties.

The warning was canceled shortly after it was issued, but a Flash Flood Warning was issued shortly after for central Macomb County that will remain in effect until 4:45 p.m.

A severe thunderstorms capable of producing a tornado was spotted over Royal Oak near Troy around 1:12 p.m., according to NWS. The storm moved northeast toward Macomb County, impacting the cities of Warren, Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, Fraser and Roseville. A line of thunderstorms is expected to move through portions of southeast Michigan throughout the evening resulting is possible flooding and power outages in the region.

The NWS urges residents to avoid driving on flooded roads and taking necessary precautions to avoid dangerous conditions.

Check back for more updates to this story.

The mother of the Oxford High School shooter has asked to be released from prison while she appeals her involuntary manslaughter convictions. The attorney for Jennifer Crumbley filed the request this week with the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Her attorney argues that Crumbley should not be forced to remain prison while the legalities of the first-of-its-kind case are sorted out.

“At present, Mrs. Crumbley has been incarcerated for over three-and-a-half years,” says the filing dated Tuesday. “She should not be forced to serve additional years of incarceration before the appellate courts can decide, with finality, her dispositive and substantial legal questions of first impression which may result in her convictions being vacated.”  

Michael Dezsi, Crumbley’s attorney, told the Michigan Public Radio Network that Crumbley does not pose a threat if she is released on bond.

“The other thing that she has to prove in order to get a bond on appeal is that she has a substantial issue of law or fact and I don’t think anybody can deny that Mrs. Crumbley has a substantial question of law that she is presenting on appeal, namely which is did she even commit a crime in the first place,” he said.

Dezsi said the state’s manslaughter statute has never been used in this way to level charges against the parent of a murderer.

“They were different from anything we’ve ever seen before and it is our position that there certainly is no law in Michigan that allows for the prosecution to charge her for the intentional criminal acts of a third person, whether that be her son or somebody else,” he said.

Last week, an Oakland County judge denied the requests of Jennifer Crumbley and her husband, James, for new trials. Judge Cheryl Matthews held the Crumbleys received fair trials, although the prosecution should have shared details of some witness agreements.

Crumbley’s son is serving a life-without-parole sentence for the 2021 school shooting that killed four students and injured seven people. A jury convicted Jennifer and James Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors argued they failed to address clear signs their son was spiraling toward violence.

A spokesperson for Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said her office opposes releasing Jennifer Crumbley in part because she would be a flight risk.

“A jury convicted Jennifer Crumbley for her actions that led to the deaths of Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling. That verdict was upheld after careful review by the Circuit Court,” said spokesperson Jeff Wattrick in an email. “Bond has been denied multiple times previously because Mrs. Crumbley was, and remains, a flight risk with no known ties to the community and a past attempt to conceal her whereabouts. The interests of justice are served by again denying bond so she can continue serving her sentence.”

Deszi said he expects the Court of Appeals to rule quickly on his motion. The court will also have to rule on whether to hear the appeal. He said whichever side loses will almost certainly take the case to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Baldwin, a small town in Lake County, is about to get one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country. 

GEO Group has owned a private prison there for decades, called North Lake Correctional Facility. It’s been closed since 2022. 

A new contract from Immigration and Customs Enforcement has the company promising to bring hundreds of jobs to the poorest county in Michigan. 

But for local residents, that promise is tempered by what has long been an on-again, off-again relationship.

IPR’s Claire Keenan-Kurgan reports. 

Maxwell Howard contributed reporting to this story.  

This work is part of the Northern Michigan Journalism Project, led by Bridge Michigan and Interlochen Public Radio, and funded by Press Forward Northern Michigan.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

New travel ban takes effect

President Trump’s latest travel ban targeting 12 countries—many of them Muslim-majority or located in South America and Africa—went into effect today. The proclamation blocks travel to the U.S. for individuals without a valid visa from: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Seven additional countries also face restrictions: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Last week, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR Michigan) issued a community alert urging individuals from the affected countries to return to the U.S. by today if possible.

CAIR Michigan staff attorney Amy Doukoure says the new restrictions could have immediate consequences.

“We might also see people who have a valid visa who don’t quite make it into the United States by June 9, unable to actually enter on the visa that they’re issued. And we will definitely see people who are here on a current valid visa, being unable to travel outside of the United States and then reenter once the travel ban takes effect.” 

Doukoure says the policy mirrors previous bans issued during Trump’s first term. She warns it will likely separate families and increase anxiety among communities from the affected countries.

Local ICE protests

About 50 protesters gathered near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Detroit on Sunday, voicing opposition to the Trump administration’s mass deportation raids.

Russ McNamara reports from the protest.

Leah Checchini of Hazel Park attended the rally. She says her father immigrated from Argentina and believes everyone deserves the same opportunity.

“Just seeing everything that’s going on around me—I have a lot of friends who are in the process of getting their papers taken care of—so watching what’s happening to people like them is enraging, to say the least.”

More protests are planned in cities across the country.

Free clinic offers help with license restoration

The Michigan Department of State is hosting a free clinic to help residents restore their driver’s licenses. The Road to Restoration clinic will take place Tuesday, June 24 at the La SED Senior and Youth Center, located at 7150 Vernor Highway in Detroit. Department staff and pro bono attorneys will be on-site to assist with the process. The clinic runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with walk-ins welcome between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Register at michigan.gov/r2r.

New guidelines added to Michigan’s Eat Safe Fish Guide

About 300 new recommendations have been added to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Eat Safe Fish Guide, with a renewed focus on reducing exposure to PFAS—commonly known as “forever chemicals.”

Officials say the chemicals are more harmful than previously thought. The updated guidelines outline which waterways are safe for fishing and how much of each species is safe to consume. For example, it’s considered safe to eat up to four servings of Bluegill per month from the Detroit River, but Bluegill from Belleville Lake should be completely avoided due to elevated PFAS levels.

Because PFAS are found in the fish fillet, simply trimming fat won’t reduce exposure. However, poking holes in the skin and grilling or broiling the fish can help lower the risk.

You can find the full Eat Safe Fish Guide at michigan.gov.

Reporting by Emma George-Griffin

Fall prevention resources available for Michigan seniors

Several groups are coming together to offer fall prevention resources for seniors. Each year, about 30 percent of Michiganders 65 and older report falling in their homes.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Bureau of Aging, Community Living and Supports Health Services, the Michigan Falls Prevention Coalition, and Oakland University have partnered to connect people with health care providers, community organizations, and fall prevention resources.

People can explore safety planning tools, physical wellness services, and daily life support online at mi211.org. You can also call 211 for help finding resources.

The website was made possible by a $408,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund Healthy Aging initiative.

Learn more at mifallsprevention.org.

Unhappy with the Trump Administration’s arrests of undocumented immigrants, about 50 protesters demonstrated near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Detroit on Sunday.

Mass arrests and deportations, including some that continue to violate court orders, have sent many to the streets in protest.

Over the weekend, law enforcement in Los Angeles, CA attacked protesters and journalists with tear gas and projectiles injuring dozens.

The crowd was small but vocal, chanting “Summer’s here, melt the ICE, immigrants deserve their rights,” along with chants in Spanish that included expletives aimed at ICE.

Mike Barber, a special education teacher from White Lake, was among them. He says he’s troubled by the administration’s actions.

“This is against what America stands for,” Barber says. “America is a nation of immigrants and now they want to kick them out without even looking at their papers.”

“It could be us next if we’re disliked.”

“I mean, here at Wayne State, we had people that got their F1 visas canceled,” Pico says. “These aren’t criminals, and the fact that Trump wants to portray them like that, I mean, he’s just racist.”

Jo Pico was drawn to protest after seeing the police-initiated violence in LA.

Leah Checchini of Hazel Park says her father immigrated from Argentina and that she believes everyone should have the same opportunity that he did.

“I have a lot of friends that are in the process of getting their papers taken care of and everything,” Checchini says. “So just seeing what’s happening to people is enraging, to say the least.”

Nationwide protests are planned for Saturday. It coincides with a planned show of military might by President Trump.

The President is celebrating his birthday with a military parade in Washington D.C.