Opinion
SC: 166024 COA: 353182
12-15-2023
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Darnell RUSH, Defendant-Appellant.
Wayne CC: 19-004021-FC
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the June 22, 2023 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
Welch, J. (dissenting).
The defendant in this case was convicted by a jury of first-degree felony murder, MCL 750.316(1)(b), under an aider and abettor theory for his involvement in a robbery when he was 21 years old. Defendant received a sentence of life in pris- on without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for the murder conviction. In his appeal, defendant argues that this Court’s decision in People v Parks, 510 Mich. 225, 987 N.W.2d 161 (2022), prohibiting mandatory LWOP sentences for 18-year-old offenders, should be extended to 21-year-old offenders. Alternatively, he argues that the Eighth Amendment or Const. 1963, art. 1, § 16 categorically prohibits sentences of LWOP for juveniles convicted of felony murder under an aider and abettor theory. I have recently expressed my belief that this Court should take both issues and resolve them with finality. See People v Adamowicz, — Mich —, 995 N.W.2d 551 (2023)) (Welch, J., dissenting); People v Taylor, — Mich —, 997 N.W.2d 904 (December 15, 2023) (Docket No. 165625) (Welch, J., dissenting). Because this defendant raises the same arguments and because this Court has yet again declined to resolve them, I respectfully dissent.
Defendant was also convicted of armed robbery, MCL 750.529, mutilation of a dead body, MCL 750.160, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b.