Judges ‘reluctantly’ uphold shortened term for baby rapist, killer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Mich. (WOOD) — A Michigan appeals court says it has “reluctantly” upheld a reduced prison sentence for a man who beat and raped his infant son, leading to the child’s eventual death.

After being raped, the 1-month-old boy was dropped to the floor and beaten “out of anger,” court records show. The beating happened because the child regained consciousness.

Damon Andrew Jackson was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1997 crime and the child’s subsequent death.

But because Jackson was just a few weeks shy of his 18th birthday when the attack happened, he was afforded a new sentencing hearing in which a term of years was on the table.

Victim’s family agonizes over killer’s chance at parole

Now-retired Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald Johnston in 2018 upheld the life sentence, calling the offense “horrendous” and “an unspeakable criminal act.”

That prompted an appeal. Johnston’s successor, Judge Paul Denenfeld, in 2022 opted instead for a term of years. Denenfeld concluded that Jackson “has indeed been rehabilitated.” He sentenced Jackson to between 35 to 60 years, a move Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker opposed.

“This is one of the most abhorrent crimes we have ever seen in this county, molesting your own one-month-old child, sodomizing him and leading to his death,” Becker said. “I don’t know how you get much worse than that.”

In its 11-page ruling, which came out last week, the Court of Appeals said Denenfeld’s lighter sentence will stand.

Justice Christopher M. Murray was less than enthusiastic with his support of the reduced sentence. His reasoning was spelled out in a nine-page concurrence. Michigan case law governing juveniles sentenced for murder “has resulted in effectively immunizing individuals under 19 who commit murder from receiving a sentence of life without parole,” Murray wrote.

Jackson, now 44, is at a state prison in Muskegon. With credit for time served, he is eligible for release in a little more than four years.

Johnston, the judge who was originally assigned the case, called it one of the most disturbing in his 40-year career as a judge.

“This is just about the worst of the worst. It’s so awful,” he said.

Jackson is one of the so-called “juvenile lifers” whose sentences required review after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 declared mandatory life without parole for juveniles unconstitutional. He was among more than 300 Michigan prisoners serving no-parole sentences who were afforded an opportunity for release following the high court decision.

‘Juvenile lifers’ get second, third chance at sentencing

Former Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth and Becker, his successor, said Jackson should never be let out of prison.

The crime happened in Grand Rapids a few days after Labor Day 1997. The baby, David, was beaten and assaulted while his mother attended school. Brain stem injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome left him blind and deaf.

“In addition to suffering severe physical injuries, the victim was also definitively sexually abused,” records show. “Sperm was found in the victim’s mouth.”

Jackson was initially charged with first-degree child abuse and criminal sexual conduct. A felony murder charge was filed when David died two years later.

The defense argued that Jackson was criminally insane. Jurors weren’t swayed. Jackson was convicted in January 2001 and sentenced to life without parole. The sentence was upheld in 2003.

Then came the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In 2016, justices said it was retroactive for all juvenile mandatory life without parole sentences.

That set the stage for resentencing hearings in which judges must consider five factors when determining if a no-parole sentence is justified. Factors include the defendant’s age and maturity, home life and circumstances of the offense.

Crime by ‘juvenile lifers’ after prison ‘very rare,’ state says

Judge Johnston presided over the hearing in 2018 and upheld the life without parole sentence. He retired at the end of the year.

Lawyers for Jackson appealed, saying his legal representation in the 2018 hearing was ineffective. A second hearing was then held in November 2021 before Denenfeld, who inherited the case from Johnston.

The two judges had divergent views. Denenfeld three months later ruled that a term of years was warranted.

“It is indisputable that the defendant’s shockingly dysfunctional and abusive home environment had a significant impact on him as a teenager and young adult,” Denenfeld wrote in a 22-page opinion in favor of a reduced sentence. “It is also clear that defendant’s prison records are stellar and that he has indeed been rehabilitated.”

On May 9, appeals court justices Michael J. Kelly, Kathleen Jansen and Christopher M. Murray sided with Denenfeld. They ruled the term of years was appropriate.

“We cannot conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by resentencing defendant to a term-of-years sentence,” they wrote.

Sign up for the News 8 weekly recap newsletter

Johnston said he still believes a life sentence is appropriate, given the circumstances of the case — including that Jackson was 2.5 weeks shy of his 18th birthday when the crime took place.

“It seems to me that people who are 17, 18 years old can and do frequently commit atrocious criminal acts and I’m not sure that they should get particularly soft treatment simply because of their chronological age,” he said.

“I think that if we don’t firmly and evenhandedly enforce the law, we make it more common, more popular, easier for people to violate the law and commit these kinds of terrible acts,” Johnston added. “So for my thinking, it’s not a good idea. But then again, the powers that be have made these decisions and that’s the law.

“I don’t have to like it, but the law is the law.”

—Target 8 investigator Susan Samples contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.