600 murderers in Michigan could soon receive lighter sentences, thanks to Democrats on state supreme court



Hundreds of convicted murderers in Michigan may soon be resentenced after the state supreme court ruled that imposing an automatic life sentence on "late adolescents" amounted to unconstitutionally "cruel" punishment.

Back in April, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 to ban an automatic life sentence for defendants who committed first-degree or felony murder at the age of 19 or 20. The court made a similar ruling about 18-year-olds in 2022. Michigan does not have the death penalty.

'19- and 20-year-old late adolescents are more similar to juveniles ... than they are to older adults.'

Writing on behalf of the all-Democrat majority, Justice Elizabeth Welch stated in the decision that the brains of 19- and 20-year-old murderers were too immature to receive the same sentence as older adults.

"As a class, 19- and 20-year-old late adolescents are more similar to juveniles in neurological terms than they are to older adults," Welch wrote. "There has long been a scientific consensus that, in terms of neurological development, there is 'no meaningful distinction' between a 17-year-old and 18-year-old individual. … But the lack of meaningful distinction does not stop at age 18."

The majority opinion expressed optimism that these murderers "are capable of significant change" and have "greater prospects for reform."

The majority also claimed that the automatic life sentence violated the Michigan state constitutional ban on "cruel or unusual punishment," a marked distinction from the prohibition in the U.S. Constitution against "cruel and unusual punishment."

Moreover, the majority of justices agreed with plaintiffs that by nature of their youth, young killers given an automatic life sentence unfairly receive longer sentences than older offenders who commit the same crime later in life. Welch called these sentences "harsh and disproportionate."

The majority made clear that the ruling applies to anyone automatically sentenced to life without parole for a murder committed when the defendant was 19 or 20. According to estimates, there are nearly 600 such convicted murderers currently in Michigan prisons, nearly half of them in Wayne County, home of Detroit, alone.

Jose Burgos, who served 27 years behind bars after he was sentenced for murder at 16, believes that automatic life sentences for young murderers are "horrible."

"As a juvenile lifer, as a child who went to prison, was [given] a life without parole sentence, I knew that the only way we were going to change that is that somebody who experienced that was going to have to come out here and explain to the people, explain to the state of Michigan, explain to this country, how horrible it is to sentence children to life without parole," said Burgos, who now advocates for "fair sentencing" for young offenders.

'These are all First-Degree Murder cases where these defendants were lawfully convicted.'

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about the decision. The two dissenting justices, the only Republicans on the Michigan Supreme Court, argued that the majority focused too much on the offender and too little on the victim.

"While I recognize that it makes some sense to consider characteristics of the offender in an as-applied challenge, such as that here," wrote Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, "I believe the majority unjustifiably allows such considerations to loom so large in its analysis that the majority downplays the gravity of first-degree murder."

Justice Brian Zahra joined Clement in the dissent.

County prosecutors added that the ruling will revictimize grieving families.

Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks, president of the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association, claimed:

We’ve listened to survivors say they need certainty and finality in the sentences of the convicted criminals who took the lives of their loved ones. They have described the retraumatization that results from the never-ending litigation of these cases.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, a staunch Democrat, made a similar statement:

As has been the case with the MSC for years now, they do not seem to care about the plight of victims and the survivor families. These are all First-Degree Murder cases where these defendants were lawfully convicted. And we intend to be thoughtful and fair to each of these defendants. The WCPO is going to need a substantial amount of extra resources to be able to follow the dictates of the Court and do the right thing.

All 600 or so murderers must be reassessed on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, prosecutors will once again request a life sentence without parole. Others will be given a defined sentence of somewhere between 25 and 60 years.

Maya Menlo, an assistant youth defender with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, confirmed that resources will be devoted to resentencing these convicted murderers but argued that the expense is worthwhile.

"Yes, there will be court resources spent on resentencing these individuals, but the savings and the potential to avoid needless, inhumane incarceration is massive," said the female defender.

Worthy described the six-month timeline given by the court to complete this reassessment process as "untenable."

"The MSC gave us six months to review over 400 Wayne County cases," she said. "Justice cannot be fair with this timeline. We intend to be thoughtful in evaluating these cases."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'Hellhounds coming for you': Loved ones of grandmother murdered in carjacking blast her 'demon' teen killer at his sentencing



Loved ones of a 73-year-old grandmother murdered in a 2022 New Orleans carjacking during which her arm was torn off blasted her "demon" teen killer at his sentencing Friday, in which he got life in prison.

'Hellhounds coming for you'

Kathy Richard — a sister-in-law of the victim, Linda Frickey — said she'd fight to keep 18-year-old John Honore behind bars if he ever appears before the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole, NOLA.com reported.

"When you take your last breath, may the only thing you hear be the hellhounds coming for you, to drag your a** back down to where you belong," Richard said to Honore — who was 17 at the time of the carjacking — at the hearing, according to NOLA. "Personally, I hope you don’t make it out of [prison] and that those hellhounds come after you quick."

Jinnylynn Frickey, Frickey's sister, said outside the courthouse that Honore "got what he deserved."

“He’s a little jerk, he’s a little punk, OK? And he deserves to go where he's going. He is a demon, and God saw that demon that day, and that’s how ... Linda’s arm got severed ... we put away the demons now. And the future demons, they better look out because the DA’s office is not playing anymore," Frickey added.

What's the background?

Frickey on March 21, 2022, was dragged for a block next to her stolen vehicle, her arm was torn off, and she died of blunt force injuries on the street, NOLA reported in a previous story, citing a coroner’s report.

It took a day for police to arrest the four teenagers involved in the carjacking, NOLA said, adding that some of their parents turned them in. District Attorney Jason Williams decided to charge all four as adults, and all four were charged with second-degree murder and faced life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years, the outlet said.

According to prosecutors, Honore — who was the only one to plead not guilty — punched and kicked Frickey, threw her from her SUV, then got behind the steering wheel while Frickey was caught in a seatbelt, NOLA said.

The other three teens — Briniyah Baker, 17, Lenyra Theophile, 16, and Mar'Qel Curtis, 16 — pleaded guilty to reduced charges of attempted manslaughter on the day their November murder trial was set to begin. They each were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

A jury deliberated four hours in a one-day trial Nov. 27 before convicting Honore of second-degree murder, NOLA said.

On Friday, Criminal District Court Judge Kimya Holmes handed down Honore's mandatory life sentence, the outlet reported. Because Honore was 17, a juvenile, at the time of Frickey's killing, NOLA said Honore will have a chance of parole after 25 years. The outlet noted that he wasn't eligible for the death penalty because the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 outlawed execution of minors.

While NOLA said a number of individuals took the stand in Honore's defense, noting that his difficult upbringing contributed to his poor decisions, a WDSU-TV video report indicated that a jailhouse phone call was played in court during which Honore was heard "rapping" and making a comment directed to prosecutors saying "forget those people."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'I like teenage girls! ... It's not wrong': Man who stalked, raped 14-year-old girl — and used pliers to pull off her braces — sentenced to life in federal prison



A Michigan man who stalked and raped a 14-year-old girl — and pulled off her braces with pliers after enticing her to run away from her Texas home — was sentenced to life in federal prison Thursday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported, citing U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham.

What's the background?

A federal jury in June convicted 22-year-old Thomas John Boukamp on 16 counts, the paper said: one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual conduct, one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, one count of enticement of a minor, two counts of receipt of child pornography, 10 counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, and one count of cyberstalking.

Boukamp met the child — identified in court as Jane Doe — on the instant messaging platform Discord when she was just 13, the Star-Telegram said, citing federal authorities. They exchanged messages — including some detailing threats to hurt the young girl's family if she disclosed their “relationship" — and Boukamp later brought her to Michigan, the paper reported.

Once she was in Michigan, Boukamp kept Jane Doe in his home where he sexually assaulted her, forcibly removed her braces with pliers, strangled her, and hit her, the Star-Telegram said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The girl's father testified in court that when she ran away to Michigan, his terrified daughter brought her baby blanket with her, the paper added.

“This man stalked and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old, then had the gall to claim in federal court that their so-called ‘relationship’ was consensual,” Meacham said in a Thursday news release, the Star-Telegram said. “The child, who bravely faced her abuser in court, asserted in no uncertain terms that his advances were unwelcome. By law, 14-year-olds simply cannot consent to sexual contact with adults. We are immensely proud of this child and hope this sentence brings some solace to her and her family."

'I like teenage girls!'

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced as evidence a recorded jailhouse phone call in which Boukamp said he wouldn't apologize for “quote unquote raping a 14-year-old," the paper reported.

“I like teenage girls! They don’t like that I like that,” Boukamp said of federal agents and prosecutors, according to the Star-Telegram. “I frankly don’t care what the morality of this current time and place says. It’s not wrong. There’s nothing wrong about it. And they’re not going to ever convince me of its wrongness. So up theirs. I hate this nation.”

When Boukamp was reminded that authorities were monitoring his jailhouse phone calls, he threatened, “If you’re listening to this, yeah, your family is going to die," the paper reported.

The girl’s father submitted a statement to the court describing his daughter's continuing trauma, the Star-Telegram added: “Her childhood was ended too soon. He took that from her. She struggles with her self-esteem. I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to truly love herself again … We hope that she can be okay. We hope that she can make it through this. We know that she will never be the same. We know that she will never get her innocence back.”

U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix issued Boukamp's sentence, the paper said.

Here's a video news report about Boukamp's conviction in June:

Michigan man convicted of stalking, sexually assaulting Texas girl, 14youtu.be

Wisconsin teenager who killed his grandparents sentenced to life in prison, minimum of 40 years



A Wisconsin teenager who shot and killed his grandparents in 2019 was sentenced to life in prison on Friday. Alexander M. Kraus faces a minimum of 40 years, and afterward, he will be eligible to petition for supervised release.

On April 14, 2019, then 17-year-old Kraus called 911 to report that he had killed his grandparents in their Grand Chute home, reported the Appleton Post-Crescent. He told emergency dispatchers that he "needed to be arrested by the police," according to the criminal complaint filed two days after the murder.

Authorities arrived at the home and found the bodies of Dennis Kraus, 74, and Leah Kraus, 73. Law enforcement searched the property and found the teenager's backpack containing a typed plan for murdering his grandparents.

The 17-year-old was taken into custody at Outagamie County jail on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Kraus initially pleaded guilty to both counts.

"I love my grandparents," he told the court. "I'm so sorry."

During the June 2021 trial, Kraus attempted to argue that he was unable to understand what he had done wrong because of his mental illness. However, the jury did not agree.

After Kraus was found guilty, Outagamie County Judge Mitchell Metropulos halted his sentencing. The judge found that Kraus was not fit to proceed and ordered him first to receive treatment.

Kraus underwent three evaluations before Metropulos decided that he could proceed to sentencing.

Under Wisconsin law, the judge was required to sentence Kraus to life in prison for first-degree homicide. However, it was Metropulos' decision to determine when Kraus was eligible to petition for supervised release.

The county's district attorney, Melinda Tempelis, requested that Kraus be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. She argued that, during law enforcement's investigation, they discovered that Kraus had additional plans to cause harm to students at the high school he attended.

Tempelis insisted that the murder of Kraus' grandparents and subsequent arrest had prevented him from harming his classmates. "I do not believe the community is or will be safe with the defendant in it," Tempelis said. "I also believe significant punishment for the horrific murder of two wonderful people in our community is not only appropriate but is expected."

Kraus' attorney, George Petit, requested that Kraus be eligible for release after 20 years in prison. "This wasn't a case of an evil person," Petit stated. "It was a kid with mental health issues that did something horrible."

"Obviously, the severity of the offense is significant," Metropulos said, "as horrible of a crime as we have. Mr. Kraus killed his grandparents, and he killed both, one right after the other, and it was without mercy, and it was with intent, and it was well planned out."

Now 20 years old, Kraus faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. Judge Metropulos sentenced the teenager to serve a minimum of 20 years for each of the two charges.

Stepfather to serve life in prison after perceptive waitress rescues young boy from horrific abuse: 'I was used like a tool from God to help him'



One brave waitress followed her instincts a couple years ago, and in doing so, she likely saved a young boy's life.

On New Year's Day 2021, a family of four entered the Mrs. Potato Restaurant in Orlando, Florida. However, waitress Flaviane Carvalho immediately sensed that something about the family wasn't right. While the mother, stepfather, and younger sister were all eating, the young boy was not. He was also quiet and not interacting much with the others. Upon closer inspection, Carvalho saw that he was covered in bruises.

Carvalho then quickly scribbled a quick note which read, "Do you need help? OK." She flashed the note to the boy once, careful not to catch the notice of the stepfather. At first, the boy gestured that he was fine, but Carvalho still wasn't satisfied, so she showed him the note again. This time, he nodded his head "yes."

Though Carvalho was also a manager at the restaurant, she consulted the manager on duty that day to see how she should proceed. The two agreed that she should call police.

She may have contacted law enforcement just in time. When police arrived and began conducting an investigation, they discovered that the 11-year-old boy was 20 pounds underweight and had been severely mistreated by his stepfather, Timothy Lee Wilson, and his mother, Kristen Swann, who witnessed the abuse and did nothing.

Reports say that Wilson, 36, had deprived the boy of food and water "for days at a time," forced him to perform "military-style exercises," and beat him when he didn't perform the tasks as expected. Wilson also hung the boy upside down from a door frame and chained him to a dolly on Christmas.

"We probably would’ve been talking about a potential homicide investigation," said Orlando Rolón, who was then the Orlando chief of police, "if [Carvalho] had not intervened when she did."

In June, a jury convicted Wilson of 10 charges, including false imprisonment of a child, aggravated child abuse with a weapon, and child neglect, and on Friday, the judge assigned to the case issued the harshest possible sentence.

"You have utterly failed, not only in the role of parent, but simply in the role of human being," Judge Wayne C. Wooten told Wilson. "For those reasons, I’m going to impose the sentence that the law allows me to impose, although candidly, in many ways, I feel like it is short of what you thoroughly and richly deserve."

Wilson will serve a life sentence plus 30 years. His wife, Swann, has been convicted of child neglect and will be sentenced on September 16.

Carvalho is grateful that justice has been served and that the boy is now living a much fuller and happier life. "I was used like a tool from God to help him," she told reporters.

The boy has reportedly been reunited with his biological father. There is no evidence that his 4-year-old half-sister had been abused.


California man faces possible life sentence for allegedly shooting occupied car with BB gun



A California man with a prior record is facing the possibility of life behind bars for attempted murder after officials say he fired a BB gun at a vehicle carrying three passengers. Authorities believe he is responsible for many more similar incidents.

What are the details?

Officials believe Jesse Leal Rodriguez, 32, is the person who allegedly fired a BB gun and shattered the window of a Tesla with three passengers inside earlier this week, The Orange County Register reported. He was arrested on three counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault for the incident that happened in Norco.

KTLA-TV reported that prosecutors say Rodriguez faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted on all counts, because he has a prior "strike" conviction.

Rodriguez allegedly fired a BB gun at the Tesla on Tuesday. None of the occupants of the vehicle were injured.

Witnesses told investigators that the person responsible was driving a maroon Chevrolet Trailblazer. Authorities were able to track down Rodriguez, and a search of the vehicle recovered a BB gun, BBs, and other purported evidence that was not disclosed.

"Shooting at moving vehicles with a BB gun or pellet gun while traveling at high speed on our roads or freeways is incredibly dangerous," Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin stated in a press release. "Shooting out windows of cars could easily startle drivers in traffic and cause a major accident."

The area has seen a rash of similar instances in the area, and officials think Rodriguez has something to do with others — even though, so far, he has only been charged with one.

"Rodriguez is suspected of 7 cases of firing a BB gun at occupied vehicles while those vehicles were being driven," California Highway Patrol investigator Steven Cuevas wrote in court filings, according to The Register. "Rodriguez was in possession of a BB gun and his vehicle was identified. Numerous CHP areas are currently investigating well over 100 similar incidents, some of which could possibly be linked to Rodriguez."

Two Americans sentenced to life in prison for murder of plainclothes Italian police officer



A jury in Rome, Italy, on Wednesday pronounced two American men guilty on all counts for their role in the gruesome murder of a plainclothes Italian police officer, sentencing them to life in prison, the country's harshest punishment.

Finnegan Lee Elder, now 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, now 20, former classmates of each other from the San Francisco area, were teenagers when the incident occurred in July 2019, the New York Times reported.

The two were vacationing in Rome when they allegedly got into a fight on an empty street corner with two plainclothes officers, Brigadier Cerciello Rega and Andrea Varriale. The officers were responding to a small-time drug deal gone bad involving the two Americans when they approached and were subsequently attacked.

According to the Associated Press, prosecutors alleged that Elder fatally stabbed 36-year-old Rega 11 times with a knife he had brought with him on his trip to Europe and that Natale-Hjorth proceeded to help him hide the weapon in their hotel room, located nearby.

The defense maintained that the two American teenagers were acting in self-defense during the scuffle, believing the officers to be thugs. They had allegedly attempted to buy cocaine earlier that night, but when the deal was aborted, they stole a backpack supposedly belonging to the individual who brokered the deal.

But in the end, the prosecution was able to persuade the jury that the two defendants acted with "homicidal intent."

In all, Elder and Natale-Hjorth were charged with homicide, attempted extortion, resisting a public official, carrying an attack-style knife without just cause, and assault. The AP noted that under Italian law, an accomplice in an alleged murder can be charged with murder, as well, despite not materially carrying out the attack.

News of the attack shocked Italy in 2019, as Rega, a newlywed, was a member of the celebrated Carabinieri paramilitary police corps and was given a hero's funeral.

"His integrity was defended," his widow, Rosa Maria Esilio, said outside the courtroom after the verdict was read. "He was everyone's son, everyone's Carabiniere. He was a marvelous husband, he was a marvelous man, a servant of the state who deserves respect and honor."

As the defendants were led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, Elder's father reportedly called out, "Finnegan, I love you."

The AP reported that one of Elder's Italian lawyers, Renato Borzone, called the verdict "a disgrace for Italy," while a lawyer for Natale-Hjorth, Fabio Alonzi, recalled that his client was "completely shocked, he kept telling me he did not understand."

During the trial, the defendants alleged that at no point during the altercation did the two officers, wearing casual clothing, announce that they were members of the police. Rega's partner, Varriale, claimed that they clearly announced their identities and displayed their badges.

The two Americans now face at least 21 years in Italian prison before they qualify for parole. Their lawyers have promised to appeal the verdict.

2 American Students Convicted Of Murdering Police Officer In Rome | TODAY youtu.be