Opinion
SC 160940 COA 343286
12-09-2022
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DARYL CONNER, Defendant-Appellant.
Oakland CC: 2017-261380-FC
Elizabeth T. Clement, Chief Justice, Brian K. Zahra, Bridget M. McCormack, David F. Viviano, Richard H. Bernstein, Megan K. Cavanagh, Elizabeth M. Welch, Justices
ORDER
By order of October 8, 2021, the application for leave to appeal the December 17, 2019 judgment of the Court of Appeals was held in abeyance pending the decisions in People v Parks (Docket No. 162086) and People v Poole (Docket No. 161529). On order of the Court, Parks having been decided on July 28, 2022, 510 Mich. ___ (2022), and Poole having been decided on July 28, 2022, 510 Mich. ___ (2022), the application is again considered. Pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals, VACATE the sentence of the Oakland Circuit Court, and REMAND this case to that court for resentencing. The defendant's mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder, committed when he was 18 years old, is cruel or unusual punishment in violation of Const 1963, art 1, § 16. Parks, supra. In all other respects, leave to appeal is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the remaining question presented should be reviewed by this Court.
Viviano, J. (concurring in part and dissenting in part).
For the reasons stated in Chief Justice CLEMENT's dissent in People v Parks, 510 Mich. ___ (2022) (Docket No. 162086), I do not believe that a mandatory sentence of life without parole for a defendant who committed first-degree murder when he was 18 years old is unconstitutional. Therefore, I would deny leave to appeal on all of the issues raised by defendant.