Ricahrd Wershe Jr. in court Sept. 4
Richard "White Boy Rick" Wershe Jr.'s epic battle to go free continued in the courts on Tuesday.
Elisha Anderson of the Detroit Free Press reports that Peter Van Hoek of the State Appellate Defender Office filed court papers with the Michigan Court of Appeals arguing why a county judge should be able to resentence Wershe with consideration to his age at the time of his drug crimes. Wershe was arrested at 17 and sentenced in Detroit at 18 to life for drug trafficking.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Dana Hathaway had granted Wershe's request earlier this month for resentencing, but the prosecutors office appealed that decision, saying the judge was "without authority, and thus inconsistent with the rule of law," the Freep reports. The Appeals Court stayed the resentencing and asked both sides to file briefs, arguing their points.
“This case stands uniquely at the intersection of two evolving trends in the law — the sentencing of juveniles as compared to adults, and a legislative recognition of the undue and unfairly draconian sentencing schemes of the past regarding the offense on which Mr. Wershe was convicted,” Wershe's attorney wrote, according to the Freep.
“Judge Hathaway not only had the authority, but also the duty, to (ensure) Mr. Wershe be treated fairly in light of his age in 1988,” the filing said.
If she gets the chance to resentence Wershe, she's likely to sentence him to time served and let him go free.
The Freep reports that Judge Hathaway had ruled earlier this month that her decision to resentence Wershe, 46, was based on juvenile case law and the evolution of penalties for drug crimes.
“If the defendant were to be resentenced today for the crime he committed in 1987, his potential guidelines in this case are as low as 42-70 months," her written order and opinion said.
Prosecutors must file a response with the Court of Appeals by Friday.
