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Juvenile lifers get another chance

DETROIT, MI (AP)--   A federal judge says all Michigan inmates serving no-parole sentences for murder committed as juveniles are entitled to a chance at release. 

Judge John Corbett O'Meara says a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down mandatory no-parole sentences applies retroactively to Michigan inmates already behind bars.

O'Meara's decision Wednesday trumps a ruling last fall by the Michigan appeals court, which said retroactivity would not apply for most.

O'Meara says it's a "matter of law and morality" that the Supreme Court decision cover all. He's directed attorneys for the state and for inmates to propose a way to hold parole hearings.

Those next steps will be litigated for months.

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.