Abdul El-Sayed, a contender in the 2026 Michigan Democratic primary for the state's vacant Senate seat, has a history of advocating for radical criminal justice reforms.
His 2018 campaign for Michigan governor was marked by a promise to commute all sentences for juveniles serving life in prison in the state. This policy, if implemented, would have led to the early release of a school shooter, a child rapist and murderer, and other heinous criminals.
During his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid, El-Sayed pledged to "commute all sentences for juveniles sentenced to life in prison and raise the age of adult prosecution" from 17 to 18. He also proposed to "explore commutation options" for any juvenile sentenced to more than 25 years and to cap the states "maximum sentence to 25 years" for minors, as per an archived version of his campaign website, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon.
El-Sayed's proposed reforms could have resulted in the premature release of some of Michigan's most notorious killers, such as school shooter Ethan Crumbley. As a sophomore at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Mich., Crumbley executed a meticulously planned mass shooting in 2021, killing four students and injuring seven others.
He shot many of his victims execution-style, firing at them multiple times after they were already down. In the days leading up to the attack, Crumbley filmed himself torturing baby birds, wrote in his journal about his desire to "hear the screams of the children as I shoot them," and searched online for "What is worst prison sentence you can get in Michigan."
Oakland County Circuit Court judge Kwam Rowe sentenced Crumbley to life in prison without the possibility of parole, citing Crumbley's "obsession with violence" and his aspiration to be known "as the biggest school shooter in Michigan history." Under El-Sayed's proposed reforms, Rowe would not have been able to sentence Crumbley to more than 25 years in prison.
Jason Benjamin Symonds, another criminal who would have benefitted from El-Sayed's proposed reforms, was convicted of raping 5-year-old Nicole VanNoty, beating her to death with a metal rod, and burying her in a garbage bag in 1994. He was sentenced to life in prison the following year and was denied parole two years ago. Under El-Sayed's proposed reforms, Symonds would have been released no later than 2019.
Marc Osborne, who raped and murdered his classmate Jessica Ledford less than two months before his 18th birthday in 1999, earned a life sentence. He will first be eligible for parole in 2039, but under El-Sayeds proposed sentencing guidelines, he would already have been back on the streets last year.
El-Sayed's 2018 commitment to commute sentences and institute a 25-year maximum for juveniles is a testament to his controversial stance on criminal justice. Last month, CNN reported that El-Sayed deleted numerous social media posts calling to defund the police, and The Washington Free Beacon reported that he deleted other posts labeling Border Patrol as "white supremacists" and blaming the United States for illegal immigration.
The Free Beacon also revealed that El-Sayed served on the boards of two radical anti-police activist groups, one that denounced cops as "fascist pigs," and another that organized a 2020 protest in Detroit that turned deadly.
Despite his past advocacy, El-Sayed has largely remained silent on the issues of criminal justice and prison reform, seemingly distancing himself from his previous positions. However, his 2018 policy proposals offer a glimpse into the extremity of his views.
Michigan used to mandate life in prison without parole for juveniles convicted of homicide. This changed following a 2012 Supreme Court ruling, upheld in 2021, which required judges to consider such sentences on a case-by-case basis. Earlier this year, the Michigan supreme court raised the minimum age for mandatory life sentences without parole to 21. Consequently, Michigan has allowed murderers sentenced under the former mandatory policy as juveniles to seek resentencing hearings, leading to the release of several convicted criminals. El-Sayed's 2018 policy would have meant killers like Bobby Gene Griffin, resentenced in 2017, would have walked free years earlier.
Griffin was convicted in 1967 for breaking into the home of 84-year-old Minnie Peaples, sexually assaulting her, beating her, stabbing her, and leaving her to bleed to death. Griffin was 17 at the time of his conviction and had his sentence reduced from life to 40 to 60 years with credit for 50. Under El-Sayeds proposed policies, Griffin would have been released in 1992 at the latest.
Timothy Riddle, another murderer, was convicted of bludgeoning 80-year-old Renate Heine to death after breaking into her home in 1988. Riddle, who was 15 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison. He had his life sentence reduced after the Supreme Court ruling, being released in 2017.
In 2021, Riddle was arrested again after leading police on a high-speed car chase and barricading himself inside a gas station for seven hours with a shotgun. If El-Sayeds sentencing rules had been in effect, Riddle would have been released no later than 2013.
El Sayed's radical views on criminal justice reform, as evidenced by his past proposals, raise serious concerns about his suitability for the Senate seat. His silence on these issues only adds to the uncertainty surrounding his candidacy.
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