Juvenile lifers could get a shot at parole

DETROIT (AP) — More than 300 Michigan prisoners serving no-parole sentences will likely have an opportunity for release after a major decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court says prisoners who have been locked up for years must benefit from a 2012 ruling that outlawed automatic no-parole sentences as cruel punishment for first-degree murder.

It applies to people convicted of murder when they were teenagers.

Ann Arbor attorney Deborah LaBelle said the reaction has been “tears of joy” in Michigan prisons.

At 71, Sheldry Topp is the oldest state inmate serving a no-parole sentence for murder as a teen. He’s been in prison for 53 years.

Roughly 350 prisoners are affected. It’s unclear whether they will get parole hearings or new sentences.