# People of Michigan v. Damon Andrew Jackson

> Michigan Court of Appeals · May 9, 2024

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9967576

## Case

- **Court:** Michigan Court of Appeals
- **Decided:** May 9, 2024
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to
revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

STATE OF MICHIGAN

COURT OF APPEALS

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED
May 9, 2024
Plaintiff-Appellant,

v No. 361540
Kent Circuit Court
DAMON ANDREW JACKSON, LC No. 00-005206-FC

Defendant-Appellee.

Before: M. J. KELLY, P.J., and JANSEN and MURRAY, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Defendant, Damon Andrew Jackson, was 17 years old when he committed the offense that
resulted in a 2001 conviction of felony murder and a mandatory sentence of life without the
possibility of parole (LWOP). Following a second Miller1 hearing in 2022, the trial court
resentenced defendant to 420 to 720 months’ (35 to 60 years) imprisonment. The prosecution
appeals this sentence, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by finding that defendant’s
counsel at the first Miller hearing was constitutionally ineffective and by concluding that defendant
merited a term-of-years sentence. For the reasons herein, we reluctantly affirm defendant’s term-
of-years sentence.

I. RELEVANT FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

In 2012, the United States Supreme Court held that the mitigating characteristics of youth
must be considered when sentencing juveniles, and that mandatory sentences of LWOP for
juveniles convicted of first-degree murder were unconstitutional. Miller v Alabama, 567 US 460,
470; 132 S Ct 2455; 183 L Ed 2d 407 (2012). This holding was made retroactive in 2016.
Montgomery v Louisiana, 577 US 190; 136 S Ct 718; 193 L Ed 2d 599 (2016). Under the system
designed by the Michigan Legislature to resentence juvenile lifers, prosecutors are required to file
motions for resentencing in all cases in which they intend to ask sentencing courts to affirm a
sentence of LWOP. Hearings on these motions are governed by MCL 769.25.

1
Miller v Alabama, 567 US 460; 132 S Ct 2455; 183 L Ed 2d 407 (2012).

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MCL 769.25a(4)(b). At such hearings, a trial court is required to consider the factors listed in
Miller, but it may also “consider any other criteria relevant to its decision, including the
individual’s record while incarcerated.” MCL 769.25(6). The factors listed in Miller are:

(1) “[the defendant’s] chronological age and its hallmark features—among them,
immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences”; (2) “the
family and home environment that surround[ed] him—and from which he cannot
usually extricate himself—no matter how brutal or dysfunctional”; (3) “the
circumstances of the homicide offense, including the extent of his participation in
the conduct and the way familial and peer pressures may have affected him”;
(4) whether “he might have been charged [with] and convicted of a lesser offense
if not for incompetencies associated with youth—for example, his inability to deal
with police officers or prosecutors (including on a plea agreement) or his incapacity
to assist his own attorneys”; and (5) “the possibility of rehabilitation . . . .” [People
v Skinner, 502 Mich 89, 114-115; 917 NW2d 292 (2018), quoting Miller, 567 US
at 477-478 (first and second alterations added; third alteration and ellipsis in
Skinner).]

The sentencing court is required to “specify on the record the aggravating and mitigating
circumstances considered by the court and the court’s reasons supporting the sentence imposed.”
MCL 769.25(7). The court may either resentence the defendant to LWOP or sentence the
defendant to a minimum prison sentence between 25 and 40 years, and a maximum prison sentence
of not less than 60 years. MCL 769.25(9).

After a bench trial in 1998, the trial court found defendant guilty, but mentally ill, of first-
degree child abuse, MCL 750.136b(2), and first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC-I),
MCL 750.520b(1)(a), for brutally physically and sexually abusing his one-month-old son. This
Court affirmed defendant’s convictions of first-degree child abuse and CSC-I. People v Jackson,
245 Mich App 17; 627 NW2d 11 (2001). When defendant’s son later died from his injuries, a jury
convicted defendant of felony murder, and the trial court sentenced him to mandatory LWOP. A
panel of this Court affirmed defendant’s felony-murder conviction.2

After the United States Supreme Court decided Montgomery, triggering the procedures
described in MCL 769.25a, the prosecution filed notice of its intent to continue to seek a sentence
of LWOP. This prompted the first Miller hearing. That hearing was held before Kent Circuit
Judge Donald Johnston, who had served on that court for almost three decades and presided over
both of defendant’s trials. After receiving evidence in the form of exhibits and several witnesses
(including defendant, character witnesses, and his expert) and considering the written and oral
arguments of the parties, Judge Johnston determined that despite his age at the time of the murder
(17 days short of 18), defendant should still be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility

2
People v Jackson, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued July 31, 2003
(Docket No. 233435).

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of parole. In doing so, Judge Johnston examined each of the relevant statutory and Miller factors.
With respect to the first factor, Judge Johnston stated:
The first Miller factor is the defendant's chronological age and its hallmark
features, among them immaturity, impetuosity, and the failure to appreciate risks
and consequences. Well, the defendant in this case was, as has been observed
repeatedly, 18 days short of his 18th birthday.

* * *

In Miller there was reference to young boys, I think in the age range of 14,
and there was certainly a considerable thought that at that tender age perhaps the
imposition of a life sentence without parole was unduly harsh. Here, however, as I
said, the defendant is very close to a point where there would have been a firm line
drawn and we wouldn't be conducting any of this hearing and none of this would
be necessary, and the sentence of life without parole would be unassailable and
unquestioned. So it seems to me the chronological features suggest that the
defendant is very, very, very close to being held appropriately responsible as an
adult for his conduct. I also am inclined to agree with the observations made by
Ms. Clifton, that there is not evidence here of impetuosity or failure to appreciate
risks and consequences. The defendant certainly acted in a most deliberate and
intentional fashion in the commission of these acts and wasn't doing something on
the spur of the moment. It was a contrived and carefully considered criminal
offense.

As to the second Miller factor, Judge Johnston found:
The second Miller factor is the family and home environment that surrounds the
defendant and from which he cannot usually extricate himself no matter how brutal
or dysfunctional. Well, this is interesting, certainly the defendant grew up in a two-
parent household, which is usually the hallmark of stability, and yet the family was
dysfunctional and abusive in just about every sense of the word. I think Mr. Phelan
properly put his finger on on those factors. And indeed the defendant's father, who
was gainfully employed, in fact is a prison guard, somewhat ironically, and he was
subsequently convicted of criminal sexual conduct on the defendant's sister. So
that's pretty severely dysfunctional any way you look at it and probably not the sort
of home environment which is likely to produce the best possible outcome in terms
of childrearing. On the other hand, it is true that Mr. Jackson, not only could
extricate himself from the home environment, he actually did so. He went to live
with other people and went to work, and then subsequently returned to the home
which was the site of all of these dysfunctional and abusive characteristics. So
clearly he could extricate himself from the home and in fact did so, but for whatever
reason chose to return, and as Mr. Phelan has observed, I don't know that we can
delve too deeply into the reasons for it, but the point is that he was not stuck there
and unable to escape, and in fact he did leave it at one point. The other thing that's
interesting, and I'm not a clinician and don't want to trespass on that field, is the
fact that not everybody wound up in the situation Mr. Jackson found himself in
which gave rise to these proceedings. His brother seems to have turned out rather

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well and grew up in the same abusive environment. Why is it that two brothers in
the same household environment subject to the same kinds of abuses and
dysfunctionality (sic) wind up going such different routes? What causes one to
commit an unspeakable criminal act and the other to become a successful,
functioning, contributing member of the community? Certainly I don't know, but I
think it underscores the point Ms. Clifton was making, that the home environment
does not automatically inextricably produce the result of a monstrous criminal act,
and in fact people can be productive, law-abiding members of the community and
yet have come from a background of that particular scope.

As to the third Miller factor, Judge Johnston found:
The third Miller factor is the circumstances of the homicide offense, including the
extent of the defendant's participation in the conduct and the way familiar familial
and peer pressure may have affected him.

Well, the circumstances of the case, as absolutely everybody agrees, are
horrendous. Mr. Jackson himself, who I think has been pretty honest in assessing
his culpability here, makes no effort to hide from the heinousness of the crime of
which he stands convicted.

I will agree, Ms. Clifton, that having been on the bench for nearly 40 years, this is
probably the worst case of child abuse I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them
that have been really pretty bad. But this one, I think, in every respect has to be
considered the worst.

* * *

The circumstances are therefore horrific beyond description, and the extent of the
defendant's participation is -- is a hundred percent. He’s not an aider and abettor
or accessory here or even a second degree principal. He is the one and only first
degree principal in the case, so his participation was the whole game. And he does
not seem to have been affected by any peer pressure to commit the crime. He
certainly had various other motivations, primarily sexual in nature, but not to the
extent that in any way can mitigate the magnitude of the offense.

Regarding the fourth Miller factor, Judge Johnston found that

there is no indication that the defendant would have been charged any differently
than he was had he been older and wiser and more mature, for lack of a better way
to characterize it. He was not treated differently, nor did he have difficulty
navigating the legal system because of incompetencies associated with youth. He
seems to have been candid with the police from the outset, and given the magnitude
of the offense, he simply wasn’t offered a plea bargain.

Finally, as to the last Miller factor regarding rehabilitation, the court found:

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Here, I think it has to be said that Mr. Jackson today presents as a much more
mature, reflective individual than he did 20-some years ago when the events in
question were occurring. I think he’s grown up a great deal. The clinical evidence
seems to suggest that whatever mental conditions he may have been suffering from
previously, he’s not suffering from anymore, and indeed there seems to be some
indication from the latest clinical assessments that the initial reports by Dr. Miller
some years ago were embellished and may have gone beyond the bounds of what
the actual facts were. It also appears, as indicated by Ms. Clifton, that the
defendant, I think, bought into Dr. Miller’s somewhat excessive findings, perhaps
in the hopes that that would constitute some form of mitigation.

As to the remaining statutory factors not covered by Miller, Judge Johnston found:
The -- I suppose the other factors, which are addressed vaguely in the statute,
include the defendant’s adjustment to prison life. The defendant has a number of
tickets; however, as Mr. Phelan accurately points out, many of them date back to
the early days of his incarceration, and, as these things go, they are not generally
for particularly serious misconducts. There are a number of them, but they tend to
be things like being out of place and disobeying an order or being insolent, things
of that sort. And it would seem, both from the testimony of Mr. Jackson and also
from Reverend Bell, that he has had a generally positive adjustment to
incarceration, and seems to be reflecting appropriately upon his past misdeeds
which have put him where he is, and he's taken advantage of whatever opportunities
have been presented him to try and improve himself while incarcerated.

After these findings on each of the relevant factors, Judge Johnston’s weighing of these
findings led to the conclusion that defendant should still be subject to LWOP:

So it’s one of these things where we have kind of a split verdict, I suppose. I do
think that the Miller factors by a substantial majority militate in favor of the
mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, or at least they don’t mitigate the case to
the degree which would call for a term of years sentence. There are factors which
are more favorable to the term of years outcome, but there are, I think, more factors
which are, again, militating in the opposite direction.

* * *

On balance, it seems to me that the majority of factors and indeed the most
important ones militate in favor of the sentence that was originally imposed on Mr.
Jackson. It seems to me that if Mr. Jackson continues to make progress in the
institutional setting, and I hope he does, that the appropriate recourse is for
clemency through the executive branch, and there is a significant machinery in
place. I know I've been consulted periodically on cases where executive clemency
is being sought by prisoners serving life without parole. I won’t be here to deal
with it because I’m retiring at the end of the year, but my successor, Judge
Denenfeld, will, and I’m sure would take serious any application that might be filed
by or on behalf of Mr. Jackson. But my final assessment of the case is that there is
not a sufficient basis to deviate from the life in prison without parole sentence

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originally imposed by the Court. My conclusion as a matter of fact and law is that
a term of years is simply not appropriate to a crime of this magnitude, and based on
the analysis which I have undergone in preparation for this hearing and during the
course of the hearing, I am satisfied that the previously pronounced sentence of life
without parole is appropriate and should be reaffirmed.

In December 2018, Judge Johnston retired. Just months later, defendant, through appellate
counsel, moved for a new Miller hearing, arguing that defendant’s counsel rendered
constitutionally ineffective assistance at the first Miller hearing. After an evidentiary hearing and
the parties’ submission of supplemental briefs and exhibits, the successor trial court judge ruled
that defendant’s counsel at the first Miller hearing performed deficiently by “(1) failing to hire a
mitigation specialist or an investigator experienced in mitigation, (2) failing to independently
investigate Defendant’s prison records; and (3) making the decision to forgo further investigation
to ensure that Judge Johnston presided over the resentencing.” The trial court concluded that, but
for counsel’s deficient performance, there was a reasonable probability that defendant would not
have been resentenced to LWOP, and granted defendant’s motion for a new Miller hearing.
The prosecution sought leave to appeal the trial court’s ruling through a delayed application
for leave to appeal in this Court. This Court denied the delayed application “for lack of merit in
the grounds presented.”3 The prosecution did not move for rehearing or apply for leave to appeal
in the Supreme Court.
After the second Miller hearing, the trial court came to the opposite conclusion than Judge
Johnston. With regard to the first Miller factor, the court found that defendant “acted impulsively
and irresponsibly throughout his adolescence, and likely did not fully appreciate the full
consequences of his offense conduct.” The court deemed this factor to tilt slightly away from
LWOP. The trial court concluded under the second Miller factor that defendant’s “shockingly
dysfunctional” family and home environment weighed strongly against LWOP. Under the third
Miller factor, the trial court observed that the appalling circumstances of the homicide offense only
weighed slightly in favor of LWOP when considered alone, but noted that in People v Bennett,
335 Mich App 409, 426; 966 NW2d 768 (2021), this Court counseled against giving too much
weight to the offense conduct. The trial court found that whether defendant would have been
charged and convicted of a lesser offense, but for the incompetencies of youth, also weighed
slightly in favor of LWOP. Lastly, noting defendant’s stellar prison record and the opinion of a
qualified expert that defendant had put together decades of excellent behavior, the court concluded
that evidence of defendant’s rehabilitation weighed significantly against LWOP. On the basis of
its analysis, the trial court concluded that a term-of-years sentence was appropriate.

At a subsequent resentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced defendant to 420 to
720 months in prison (35 to 60 years), with credit for 265 months. The prosecution now appeals.

3
People v Jackson, unpublished order of the Court of Appeals, entered February 10, 2021 (Docket
No. 355845).

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II. LAW OF THE CASE

The prosecution concedes that this Court’s denial of its delayed application for leave to
appeal the trial court’s decision to grant a second Miller hearing “for lack of merit in the grounds
presented” established the law of the case regarding whether counsel rendered ineffective
assistance in the first Miller hearing. Nevertheless, the prosecution urges us to revisit the trial
court’s ineffective-assistance ruling on the basis of the trial court’s comment at the beginning of
the second Miller hearing that the court “just concluded that some things had not been done that
probably should have been done.” The prosecutor contends that this comment added additional
information about the trial court’s reasoning, demonstrating that the court applied the wrong legal
standard by disregarding the presumption that defense counsel rendered effective assistance and
by failing to give proper deference to counsel’s reasonable strategic decisions. We disagree.

Whether the law-of-the-case doctrine applies is a question of law that we review de novo.
People v Zitka, 335 Mich App 324, 332; 966 NW2d 786 (2020). The law-of-the-case doctrine
provides that once an appellate court has resolved a legal question and remanded the case for
further proceedings, the legal question will not be differently determined in subsequent
proceedings in the same case in which the facts remain materially the same. See Grievance
Administrator v Lopatin, 462 Mich 235, 259-260; 612 NW2d 120 (2000). “Two exceptions to the
doctrine exist: (1) when the decision would preclude the independent review of constitutional facts
and (2) when there has been an intervening change of law.” Webb v Smith, 224 Mich App 203,
210; 568 NW2d 378 (1997). We have a “mandatory obligation to apply the doctrine when there
has been no material change in the facts or intervening change in the law.” Duncan v Michigan,
300 Mich App 176, 189; 832 NW2d 761 (2013).

The trial judge made the statement at issue at the beginning of the second Miller hearing
during his informal explanation of the case’s procedural history. Nothing about the context
suggested that the purpose of the statement was to further justify a ruling clearly explained in a
written order handed down more than a year earlier. See In re Contempt of Henry, 282 Mich App
656, 678; 765 NW2d 44 (2009) (“[A] court speaks through its written orders and judgments, not
through its oral pronouncements.”). Under these circumstances, we conclude that the statement at
issue does not rise to the level of “additional information” regarding the trial court’s decision, and
we reject the prosecution’s attempt to use an informal comment to advance the same issue already
decided by this Court. Because the prosecution has established neither a change in the material
facts nor a change in the law since this Court’s denial of its delayed application on the ground that
it lacked merit, our previous determination of the issue is the law of the case. See Duncan, 300
Mich App at 189.

III. TERM-OF-YEARS SENTENCE

The prosecution next argues that the trial court abused its discretion by resentencing
defendant to a term-of-years sentence. We reluctantly disagree.

We review a trial court’s decision to resentence a juvenile lifer for an abuse of discretion.
See Skinner, 502 Mich at 137. “A trial court abuses its discretion when it selects an outcome that
was not in the range of reasonable and principled outcomes.” People v Roberts, 292 Mich App
492, 503; 808 NW2d 290 (2011). The facts underlying the trial court’s decision are reviewed for

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clear error. Skinner, 502 Mich at 137 n 27. Clear error is present when the reviewing court is left
with a definite and firm conviction that an error occurred. People v Fawaz, 299 Mich App 55, 60;
829 NW2d 259 (2012). A trial court also abuses its discretion when it makes an error of law or
“operates within an incorrect legal framework.” People v Everett, 318 Mich App 511, 516; 889
NW2d 94 (2017). “[A] given sentence can be said to constitute an abuse of discretion if that
sentence violates the principle of proportionality, which requires sentences imposed by the trial
court to be proportionate to the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the offense and the
offender.” People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630, 636; 461 NW2d 1 (1990). See also Graham v
Florida, 560 US 48, 59; 130 S Ct 2011; 176 L Ed 2d 825 (2010).

Recently, in People v Taylor, 510 Mich 112; 987 NW2d 132 (2022), the Supreme Court
articulated additional procedures and standards to be applied to juvenile LWOP proceedings under
MCL 769.25. Specifically, the Supreme Court held that a rebuttable presumption exists against
sentencing juveniles to LWOP, and that the prosecution, as the moving party, bears the burden to
overcome this presumption by clear and convincing evidence. Taylor, 510 Mich at 129. In
addition, the Supreme Court explained that the Miller factors are not to be used as aggravators; if
a particular Miller factor does not militate against LWOP, that factor will be considered neutral.
Id. at 139 n 25. Even if the prosecutor rebuts the presumption, the trial court is not obligated to
impose LWOP. Id.

The Miller proceedings in the present case occurred before Taylor was issued. Taylor
imposes a higher burden on the prosecution and requires the trial court to view the Miller factors
as either militating or neutral, so it would not impact our review here since the trial court granted
a term of years sentence under a more lenient (towards defendant) standard.

Here, although we find Judge Johnston’s analysis much more convincing, we simply
cannot conclude that the court abused its discretion by resentencing defendant to a term of years.
The prosecution first asserts that the trial court’s finding that defendant “acted impulsively and
irresponsibly throughout his adolescence, and likely did not fully appreciate the full consequences
of his offense conduct” was clearly erroneous because it did not account for evidence indicating
defendant’s maturity at the time of the offense, such as defendant’s moving back home and getting
a job before his son was born. Although the trial court did not expressly address defendant’s
moving back home and getting a job in its written opinion, taking the record as a whole, we see no
clear error in the trial court’s finding that defendant “acted impulsively and irresponsibly
throughout his adolescence,” including immediately before the offense.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Kieliszewski, who testified at defendant’s first Miller
hearing, and Dr. Michael Caldwell, Psy.D., who submitted a psychological evaluation for
defendant’s second Miller hearing, noted that defendant left his family’s home in 1996, but then
moved back home before his son was born. Dr. Kieliszewski did not view defendant’s moving
back home and getting a job as evidence of maturity. To the contrary, Dr. Kieliszewski testified
that defendant impulsively switching between trying to do the right thing, i.e., working and
supporting his two children, and sliding into a substance-abuse lifestyle, partying, and trying to
project a certain persona, were manifestations of defendant’s emotional immaturity and
impetuosity. Similarly, Dr. Caldwell indicated that, in the month leading up to the offense,
defendant “lived in a ‘party house’ and lived a remarkably irresponsible and immature lifestyle.”
He was drinking, using marijuana heavily and trying other drugs, not eating or sleeping regularly,

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staying up with friends until he passed out, and sleeping no more than four hours a night, and he
viewed basic life responsibilities like keeping a regular schedule or holding a job as “burdens that
he resented and felt unable to fulfill.”

The prosecution further asserts that the trial court’s finding under the first Miller factor was
erroneous because it resulted from the trial court’s misinterpretation of evidence regarding
defendant’s mental status. Specifically, the prosecution asserts that defendant’s “concocted claims
of blackouts and other symptoms to support his claim of insanity” demonstrated that defendant
appreciated the risks and consequences of his criminal behavior. The prosecution contends that
defendant faked symptoms of dissociative disorder, then duped Dr. Steven Miller, defendant’s
expert in forensic clinical psychology at his second trial, into diagnosing him with the condition
so that he could avoid the consequences of his actions by pleading insanity.

The trial court rejected this interpretation of events and noted that the theory of dissociative
disorder found support in Dr. Caldwell’s determination that, at the time of the offense, defendant
likely suffered from “mild Dissociative Episodes,” including “some mild depersonalization
symptoms, in which he experienced his thoughts as external voices.” In addition, defendant’s
sister testified that she had been diagnosed with dissociative disorder when she was 19 years old
and had undergone therapy. Without evidence supporting its interpretation of events, we cannot
adopt the prosecutor’s theory regarding the origins of Dr. Miller’s diagnosis of defendant’s mental
status at the time of the offense.

As to whether defendant “fully appreciate[d] the full consequences of his offense conduct,”
Dr. Caldwell reported that, although none of the effects of trauma on defendant’s neurobiological
maturation destined him to commit his offenses or excused his actions, they likely would have
“substantially reduced” his capacity to, among other things, “rationally anticipate future
consequences, and employ basic conventional problem-solving skills.” Further, Dr. Kieliszewski
testified that defendant reported that he intended to cause the infant pain and humiliation and to
take out his frustrations on the infant, but he never intended to seriously hurt the infant, and he was
surprised when the child died. Dr. Caldwell’s observation, and defendant’s report to
Dr. Kieliszewski, if believed, support the conclusion that defendant did not “fully appreciate the
full consequences of his offense conduct.” While we may disagree with the court’s conclusion, as
did Judge Johnston after the initial Miller hearing, we cannot conclude, from the evidence
presented at the second Miller hearing and from the trial court’s interpretation of that evidence,
that the trial court’s findings with regard to the first factor were clearly erroneous. In other words,
we are not left with a definite and firm conviction that the court erred in its finding that defendant
“acted impulsively and irresponsibly throughout his adolescence, and likely did not fully
appreciate the full consequences of his offense conduct.” See Fawaz, 299 Mich App at 60.

The prosecution does not challenge the trial court’s assessment of the second Miller factor,
and the only challenge it raises regarding the remaining factors is to the comparative weight that
the trial court gave them. The prosecution asserts that the trial court erred by giving too little
weight in its overall analysis to the circumstances of the crime and defendant’s ability to assist
with his own defense, and too much weight to defendant’s rehabilitation. We note that Judge
Johnston, just a few months before defendant filed his motion for a second Miller hearing, and
after presiding over defendant’s trials, found the circumstances of the crime to be “horrific beyond
description.” After the subsequent Miller hearing, the trial court also acknowledged the abhorrent

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circumstances of the homicide offense, but noted that this Court “counseled against giving too
much weight to the offense conduct.” See Bennett, 335 Mich App at 426. The trial court also
indicated that the incompetencies of youth did not affect defendant’s interaction with authorities
or his ability to assist in his defense, and that this factor weighed in favor of LWOP, but the court
gave this factor little weight. Even if we agreed with the prosecution, which we would be inclined
to do considering the horrific nature of defendant’s offense, the specific weight to be attributed to
the factor was within the trial court’s discretion.

The record contains evidence of rehabilitation. Richard Stapleton, a highly qualified expert
in prisoner disciplinary policies and procedures and department-wide operations followed by the
Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), submitted a report for defendant’s second Miller
hearing. Stapleton outlined the MDOC disciplinary procedures, including changes to the
procedures that occurred during defendant’s incarceration; defendant’s formal misconduct history;
defendant’s program and work assignment performance; and defendant’s performance on the
MDOC’s risk-assessment tools. He concluded that defendant’s low number of formal misconducts
was a “a commendable achievement,” and viewed defendant’s 14 years at Level II security as
“clear evidence of rehabilitation and development of personal responsibility and maturity.”
Stapleton described how defendant sought means of self-improvement, despite the limited
opportunities available to him. He explained that the number and type of jobs that defendant had
held was an important achievement, and he observed that the MDOC’s risk-assessment tool,
COMPAS,4 found defendant at low risk for violence and for recidivism. Stapleton concluded that
defendant had “fully matured in prison” and that, during defendant’s two decades of incarceration,
“he has never been reported to have exhibited any indications of violent or assaultive behavior.
He displays all indications of an individual who could be a responsible and productive member of
society.”

The record shows that the trial court considered each of the Miller factors, specified the
aggravating and militating circumstances considered, and explained its reasons supporting the
sentence imposed. See MCL 769.25(7). At defendant’s sentencing hearing, the trial court
observed that the task before it was a “hard call” because defendant had pieced together a
“remarkable prison record,” but the egregious nature of what happened weighed against “simply
imposing the minimum sentence” allowed by law. For this reason, the trial court imposed a term-
of-years sentence that required defendant to serve significantly more time before he would be
eligible for parole. In light of the trial court’s thorough analysis of the Miller factors, the record
evidence supporting that analysis, and when actually applying5 the deferential standard of appellate

4
COMPAS is an acronym for Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative
Sanction. See Parole Information Project, “COMPAS Risk Assessments,” available at
(accessed May 1, 2024).
5
But see People v Granger, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued
August 4, 2022 (Docket No. 355477), where the majority painstakingly examined the record to
conclude that the trial court clearly erred in several of its factual findings, and therefore abused its
discretion, in re-sentencing the juvenile defendant to LWOP. This was so despite that fact that the
trial court issued a 39-page opinion, after a three-day evidentiary hearing, examining all the Miller

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review, we cannot conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by resentencing defendant to
a term-of-years sentence.

Affirmed.

/s/ Michael J. Kelly
/s/ Kathleen Jansen

factors. Id. (SAWYER, J., dissenting) at 1. De novo review of sentences is not permitted under
Michigan law, especially when applying an abuse of discretion standard. See Skinner, 502 Mich
at 132.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9967576. Public record. Not legal advice.