In Michigan, ranked by the report as having the third-highest rate of sentencing youth to life without parole, Governor Jennifer Granholm has said she is open to considering changes in legislation, said Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for the governor's office.
While 93 percent of youth offenders serving life sentences without parole were convicted of murder, an estimated 26 percent were convicted of felony murder, the report said.
Under that charge, anyone involved in a crime during which a death results is guilty of murder, regardless of whether they committed the killing. As a result, some juvenile offenders are being jailed for life simply for being present at a crime scene.
It found that while many of the child offenders in prison are now over 18, 16 percent were between 13 and 15 years old when they committed their crimes.
RSS