Urge Your State Senator & Representative  to Adopt Raise the Age Bills to Assure That 17 Year-Olds Are Not Tried as Adults  BACKGROUND This week the House and Senate Judiciary Committees voted, on a bi-partisan basis, to adopt versions of raise the age bill packages that would ensure that 17 year-olds are not automatically tried as adults. Instead, youth can be tried in juvenile justice courts and are less likely to be sent to prisons for adults.  Michigan is one of only four states that prosecutes 17 year-olds as adults. Statistics show that states that have enacted similar raise-the-age laws have experienced a significant decrease in juvenile court referrals and recidivism. Alicia Guevara Warren, Kids Count in Michigan Project Director at the Michigan League for Public Policy,  said “Michigan is one step closer […]