People of Michigan v. Demariol Dontaye Boykin

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court held that sentencing courts must treat youth as a mitigating factor when sentencing juvenile homicide offenders to terms of years under MCL 769.25 or MCL 769.25a. The court further held that sentencing courts need not expressly explain on the record how youth affected the sentence, although they must otherwise justify the sentence sufficiently for appellate review. Because it was unclear whether the sentencing courts properly treated youth as mitigating, the court vacated the sentencing portions of both Court of Appeals decisions and remanded for further consideration.