People v. La Salle Washington
People v. La Salle Washington
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). In 1967, defendant shot and killed the owner of a market. When a jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charged offense of first-degree felony murder, the trial court declared a mistrial. Several weeks later, defendant pleaded guilty of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to a parolable term of life imprisonment.
Defendant did not file a direct appeal. However, he later moved to withdraw his guilty plea because the trial court had failed to advise him that he had the right to testify at trial. The trial court denied the motion, and the Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal for lack of merit. This Court denied leave to appeal.
Defendant filed this motion for relief from judgment in 2003. The trial court denied the motion. The Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal for failure to meet the burden of establishing entitlement to relief under MCR 6.508(D).
Defendant seeks relief from judgment because, after his sentence was pronounced, the Michigan Parole Board changed its policy on paroling convicts incarcerated for life sentences. The policy now is that “life means life,” meaning those sentenced to life terms are ineligible for parole. At sentencing, defendant, the trial judge, and counsel believed
Thus, defendant claims that he is entitled to resentencing because he did not understand the consequences of his guilty plea. Furthermore, defendant claims that, because the parole board adopted the “life means life” policy after he was sentenced, the new policy, as applied to him, violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution.
Defendant relies on Foster Bey v Rubitschun,
This issue has been addressed by the Court of Appeals.
People v Washington, 390 Mich 786 (1973).
US Const, art I, § 10, cl 1.
Foster Bey v Rubitschun, 2007 LEXIS 95748 (ED Mich, 2007).
See People v Hill, 267 Mich App 345 (2005).
Opinion of the Court
The defendant has failed to meet the burden of establishing entitlement to relief under MCR 6.508(D). Court of Appeals No. 284148.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.