Michael Wendling, St.
Clair County prosecutor, said that he will appeal a Court of Appeals decision
which may decide if juveniles can be sentenced to life without parole. The
appeal, which would go to the Supreme Court, is the latest in a long line of
court cases for People v. Skinner, a
case in which a minor, Tina Skinner, arranged for the murder of her parents.
Ms. Skinner had
planned the attack of her parents with her boyfriend and gave the attacker a
map of her neighborhood and a clear entrance point to her home. The father was
killed, but the mother survived 25 knife wounds. Ms. Skinner arranged for the
attack because she was upset that her parents did not approve of her boyfriend.
Ms. Skinner was
originally found guilty and sentenced to life without parole, however the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that a juvenile could not be sentenced to life
without parole automatically. The decision of the Court of Appeals, which was
split 2-1 used the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution saying
that the right to be sentenced by a jury of your peers and that allows for a
life sentence without parole to be handed down.