Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Michigan on Thursday enacted a law that raises the age persons accused of a crime are automatically tried as adults, to 18.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the law in a ceremony at the statehouse.
Michigan was one of only a few states that allowed 17-year-olds to be tried, automatically, as adults. A similar bill failed to make it out of the legislature last year, but the new bipartisan effort passed in the House and Senate this month.
"I'm proud that Michigan has joined 46 other states in ending the unjust practice of charging and punishing our children as adults when they make mistakes," Whitmer said in a statement. "These bills will strengthen the integrity of our justice system by ensuring that children have access to due process that is more responsive to juveniles."
Youth advocates had long argued that increasing the age would put teenagers on a path to rehabilitation, rather than giving them a permanent criminal record at 17.
"This is what a good compromise looks like, both in the substance of the policy and in the widespread and diverse support," Gilda Jacobs, president of the Michigan League for Public Policy, said in a statement. "With a stroke of her pen today, the governor is taking better care of our youth and families and giving them a brighter future, benefiting our communities and economy in the process."
The law will take effect in October 2021.
