The next issue in sentencing of juveniles?

When the Roper decision by the Supreme Court eliminated the death penalty for juvenile offenders, I pondered in this post whether and how age might become a significant consideration in some non-capital sentencing decisions.  This interesting article from Michigan suggests that the public strongly believes juvenile offender’s do not merit other extremely harsh sentences:

According to a new study from the Wayne State University School of Social Work, many Michigan residents disapprove of state policies on sentencing juveniles. The study, authored by Assistant Professors Sheryl Pimlott Kubiak and Terrence Allen, and Associate Professor Anthony King, all of the School of Social Work, found that 95 percent of Michigan citizens opposed juveniles being sentenced to life without parole (LWOP).

Allen presented the study at the Michigan Capitol Oct. 25, where state Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, introduced a bill that would prohibit sentencing an individual under age 18 to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole….

According to a recent ACLU report, over 300 youth have been sentenced to LWOP in Michigan since 1988, making it the state with the third highest number of youth sentenced to adult correctional facilities.  Additionally, Michigan is one of only 11 states that allow minors of any age to be tried and sentenced as adults.