Michigan mandatory minimum sentences set a floor the judge cannot go below, regardless of the circumstances of the case or the defendant’s background. They range from two years for possessing a firearm during a felony to life without parole for first-degree murder. The crime charged, the defendant’s age, and in some cases the defendant’s prior record determine which floor applies.
First-Degree Murder: Life Without Parole
First-degree murder carries Michigan’s harshest mandatory sentence: life in prison with no possibility of parole. It applies to premeditated killings, murders committed during certain felonies such as arson or kidnapping, and killings involving poison or lying in wait.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.316 – First Degree Murder For an adult defendant, the court has no discretion. There is no sentencing hearing where the judge weighs factors and picks a number. A conviction equals life without parole.
Juvenile offenders are the one exception. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama (2012), mandatory life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed by minors are unconstitutional. Michigan responded with MCL 769.25, which lets a court impose a term of years instead. The minimum must fall between 25 and 40 years, and the maximum must be at least 60 years. A prosecutor can still seek life without parole for a juvenile, but only by filing a motion and proving the case warrants it at a hearing that considers the offender’s age, maturity, and circumstances. If no motion is filed, the term-of-years sentence applies automatically. Juveniles sentenced this way cannot earn good time credits or any other reduction to the minimum or maximum.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 769.25 – Juvenile Sentencing People already serving juvenile life-without-parole sentences from before 2012 can be resentenced under MCL 769.25a to the same 25-to-40-year minimum range.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 769.25a – Juvenile Resentencing
Felony Firearm: 2, 5, or 10 Years, Stacked
Michigan’s felony firearm statute is one of the most frequently applied mandatory minimums in the state. Anyone who possesses a firearm while committing or attempting to commit a felony receives an automatic prison term on top of whatever the underlying crime carries.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.227b – Carrying or Possessing Firearm When Committing or Attempting to Commit Felony The mandatory terms are:
- First offense: 2 years
- Second offense: 5 years
- Third or subsequent offense: 10 years
The structure is what makes this law bite. The felony firearm sentence must be served first, before the underlying crime’s sentence begins, and the two run back-to-back rather than overlapping. A judge cannot suspend the sentence, grant probation, or reduce it for any reason.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.227b – Carrying or Possessing Firearm When Committing or Attempting to Commit Felony Someone convicted of armed robbery and first-offense felony firearm serves two years flat before the robbery sentence clock starts.
That certainty gives prosecutors heavy leverage in plea negotiations. A defendant facing both a serious felony and a felony firearm count knows that losing at trial means years of guaranteed, non-negotiable prison time stacked on top of the primary sentence, and prosecutors will often offer to drop the firearm charge in exchange for a guilty plea.
First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct Against a Child Under 13
When a defendant 17 or older is convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a victim under 13, the mandatory minimum is 25 years in prison.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.520b – Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree The floor applies regardless of prior record. A first-time offender with no criminal history faces the same 25 years as a repeat offender.
The penalty escalates for repeat offenders. If the defendant is 18 or older, the victim is under 13, and the defendant has a prior conviction for sexual conduct against a child under 13, the sentence becomes life without parole.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.520b – Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First Degree Either sentence also carries mandatory lifetime electronic monitoring.
Other forms of first-degree criminal sexual conduct that don’t involve a victim under 13 are punishable by up to life but carry no statutory minimum floor. In those cases the judge sets the sentence under the sentencing guidelines.
Armed Robbery With Serious Injury: Two-Year Floor
Armed robbery in Michigan is punishable by up to life in prison. When the robbery causes aggravated assault or serious injury, a two-year mandatory minimum applies.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.529 – Armed Robbery Two years is a modest floor compared with other mandatory minimums, and in practice the sentencing guidelines for armed robbery typically recommend terms well above it. The two-year floor matters most when it combines with a felony firearm charge, producing consecutive mandatory terms.
Fourth-Offense Habitual Offender: 25 Years for a Serious Crime
Michigan’s habitual offender laws raise penalties for defendants with prior felonies. The one that creates a true mandatory floor is the fourth-offense provision in MCL 769.12. A person with three or more prior felony convictions who commits a new felony classified as a “serious crime” faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years, provided at least one prior conviction qualifies as a “listed prior felony.” Serious crimes under the statute include armed robbery, second-degree murder, kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and carjacking, among others. Listed prior felonies include violent offenses, certain firearms violations, and major drug crimes punishable by more than four years. Only one conviction per criminal transaction counts toward the prior-felony total.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 769.12 – Punishment for Subsequent Felony
The habitual offender enhancement is driven by record, not by the facts of the current crime. A first-time armed robbery defendant will not face the 25-year habitual floor regardless of how serious the robbery was. A defendant with three qualifying priors who commits that same robbery will, even if the robbery itself caused no physical injury. The enhancement also doesn’t apply automatically: the prosecutor must file a written notice of intent within 21 days after arraignment.8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 769.13 – Notice of Intent to Seek Enhanced Sentence
What About Drug Crimes?
Michigan once had some of the harshest drug mandatory minimums in the country, but the legislature eliminated them in 2002 PA 665, effective March 1, 2003.9Michigan Courts. Alternative Sentences for Major Controlled Substance Offenses Someone convicted today of manufacturing or delivering 1,000 grams or more of a schedule 1 or 2 narcotic still faces up to life in prison and a fine of up to $1,000,000, but the judge now sets the sentence within that range using the guidelines rather than a fixed floor.10Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 333.7401 – Manufacturing, Delivering, or Possessing Controlled Substances Many people still assume Michigan has drug mandatory minimums. For these offenses, it doesn’t.
What the Minimum Actually Means for Release
A mandatory minimum in Michigan is generally the earliest point at which the parole board can consider release, not a guarantee of release. The board starts its review before the minimum expires, but it has sole authority to grant parole and there is no entitlement to it.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 791.235 – Parole Board For violent offenses, denial at the first eligibility date is common, and denials can continue for years.
Some mandatory terms are even stricter than that. Felony firearm sentences are flat time: no parole eligibility, no credit, no reductions during the mandatory two, five, or ten years.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.227b – Carrying or Possessing Firearm When Committing or Attempting to Commit Felony Juveniles sentenced under MCL 769.25 cannot earn good time, disciplinary credits, or any other reduction.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 769.25 – Juvenile Sentencing First-degree murder with life without parole for an adult means exactly what it says.
Can a Judge Sentence Below These Minimums?
No, and this is worth being clear about because the sentencing guidelines are often misunderstood on this point. Michigan’s sentencing guidelines became advisory rather than mandatory after People v. Lockridge (2015), and the legislature confirmed that change in 2020 PA 395.12Michigan Courts. Effect of Lockridge A judge may now depart from a calculated guideline range if the departure is reasonable and the reasons are stated on the record.13Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 769.34 – Sentencing Guidelines
That flexibility applies to guideline sentencing. It does not reach statutory mandatory minimums. A judge who disagrees with the felony firearm add-on cannot depart below it; the statute itself bars suspension, probation, and parole during the mandatory term. The 25-year floor for CSC against a child under 13, the 25-year floor for the fourth-offense habitual offender, and life without parole for adult first-degree murder all operate the same way. The guideline reforms shaped how judges set sentences inside a range. They did not touch the floors the legislature wrote into separate statutes.