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No. 121564
| People
of the State of Michigan, |
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Joseph
A. Puleo (313) 833-2914 |
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Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
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| vs (Appeal
from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Wayne
-- Burton, F.)
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| Gregory Petty, |
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Valerie R. Newman (313) 256-9833 |
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Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
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Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee's
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Background
The 15-year-old defendant, Gregory Petty, was found guilty of aiding
and abetting 12-year-old McKinley Moore, who shot and killed a fleeing
robbery victim. A witness testified that he saw both Petty and Moore
pursue the victim, and that he heard Petty yell something to Moore as
Moore went through the victim's pockets after the victim fell. Petty
then ran to the victim and went through one of his pockets. At the trial,
videotape evidence obtained from a nearby gas station surveillance camera
suggested that Petty selected and identified the victim as the target
for his 12-year-old companion. A dispositional hearing was held in order
to decide whether to sentence Petty as a juvenile or an adult. Wayne
County Circuit (Family Division) Judge Freddie G. Burton, Jr. sentenced
Petty to life without parole. In an unpublished per curiam opinion,
the Court of Appeals affirmed Petty's convictions of felony murder and
felony firearm, but ruled that Petty must be resentenced. Under the
Michigan Probate Code and Michigan Court Rule 5.955, a judge deciding
whether to sentence a minor as an adult "shall consider" a
number of factors, including the seriousness of the offense, the minor's
prior record, the minor's culpability in committing the offense, the
adequacy of the punishment or programming available in the juvenile
justice system, the dispositional options available for the minor, and
other criteria. The Court of Appeals believed that the trial judge may
have considered all the statutory factors, but stated that the judge
had not engaged in the appropriate required factfinding which assured
that he had effectively fulfilled his duty under the statute. The Court
of Appeals also found that the trial judge erred by failing to ask Petty
if he had anything to say before the court imposed sentence. The prosecution
appeals.
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