Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

In response to last week's ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court that makes 582 convicted murderers eligible for resentencing, House Appropriations Chair Ann Bollin on Monday announced she is drafting legislation to cut funding from the court bureaucracy and redirect it to local prosecutors who are now racing against the clock to keep violent offenders behind bars.

“This reckless and retroactive decision by the Michigan Supreme Court threatens the safety of our communities and retraumatizes the families of murder victims,” said Bollin, R-Brighton Township.

“These are adults who made the conscious choice to take another person’s life. They were tried, convicted, and sentenced appropriately. Now, the court wants to give them a do-over.”

Under the ruling, Bollin's office said individuals who were 19 or 20 years old when they committed first-degree murder can no longer be automatically sentenced to life without parole. Because the decision is retroactive, prosecutors now have just 180 days to review each of the 582 affected cases and file motions seeking to maintain the original sentence of life without parole. If no motion is filed within that timeframe, the individual must be resentenced to a term of years — opening the door for early release and even immediate release in some cases.

“The 180-day window is unrealistic and dangerous,” Bollin said. “Prosecutors have said it’s ‘untenable’ — and I believe them. These cases are decades old in many instances. Reviewing them thoroughly and locating victims’ families in such a short time is a massive undertaking. Meanwhile, the very court that created this mess continues operating business as usual on the taxpayers’ dime. That ends now.”

Bollin said she will move to scale back the budget for the Michigan Supreme Court and the State Court Administrative Office and instead invest those resources into county prosecutors’ offices so they can handle the sudden workload caused by the court’s decision.

“If the Michigan Supreme Court wants to upend the justice system and force communities to relive horrific crimes, they’re going to have to tighten their budget,” Bollin said.

“I’m going to make sure the people doing the real work — our local prosecutors — have the resources they need to keep dangerous criminals behind bars and fight for justice on behalf of victims and their families.”