A man who was a few months shy of his 18th birthday when he killed a rival over $50 lost a bid to have his already shortened prison sentence reduced again.
Demariol D. Boykin was sentenced to mandatory life in prison for the 2003 murder on the city’s Southeast Side, but that was upended when the U.S. Supreme Court said mandatory terms for juvenile killers was unconstitutional.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Leiber gave him a new sentence of 40 to 60 years for what the judge called “murderous acts.’’
Boykin was hoping for less time. He appealed, saying the revised sentence did not comply with the constitutional mandate that juveniles be treated differently than adults. In a 2-1 ruling, the Court of Appeals disagreed.
“Here, the trial court did not sentence defendant to life without parole, but instead sentenced to a term of years,’’ justices wrote. “Considering the totality of the circumstances, defendant’s sentence was proportionate to the seriousness of the offense.’’
Boykin “acted with extreme brutality by executing another teenager with virtually no provocation,’’ justices wrote in the five-page decision. “We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion.’’
Justice Douglas B. Shapiro dissented, saying he would have nixed Boykin’s sentence and sent the case back to a different judge.
During Boykin’s Oct. 2016 resentencing hearing, Leiber “seemed to advocate a campaign to get the Supreme Court to reverse itself,’’ Shapiro wrote in his dissent.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 ruled that mandatory life terms for juvenile offenders was unconstitutional, triggering resentencing hearings for more than 360 juvenile lifers held in Michigan prisons.
Instead of mandatory life, teen killers now face a minimum sentence of between 25 and 40 years and a maximum of at least 60 years.
Leiber said the maximum penalty was warranted for Boykin, given the brutality of his crime. The shooting victim, 18-year-old Shawn Broyles, was shot on the sidewalk along Alto Avenue SE near Dickinson Street.
“This was an intentional act. This wasn’t a provocation,’’ Leiber said at the time. “He admits trying to fire the gun still pressed against the victim’s face before he and his accomplices resorted to repeatedly kicking him about his body and his head.’’
Boykin, now 32, is at a state prison in Ionia. He won’t be eligible for release until he’s nearly 60 years old.
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