Dear Supreme Court Judge Bridget M. McCormack,
I approach humbly, head bowed, pride checked at the door.
Back in 1995 I shot and killed a man (a crime for which I am truly and deeply sorry). I was then tried and found NOT guilty of First Degree Murder, but guilty of Second Degree Murder.
At sentencing my Judge checked the OV3 box for premeditated/intent to kill and added 50 points to my Offense Variables score, hiking my guidelines through the roof. She then used those higher guidelines to sentence me to the overly-long 40-60 years behind bars.
My original appellate attorney did not raise my judge’s use of acquitted conduct at sentencing as a due-process violation. But in 2006 I hired James C. Thomas out of Detroit, and he raised the issue by filing a 6.500 motion, and then later on by filing appeals to both the Appeals Court and the Michigan Supreme Court. The issue failed.
My question to you, Your Honor, is simple: How is it that in 2006 my rationale was rejected when I asserted that my judge’s use of acquitted conduct while sentencing me was a due-process violation, but in 2019, when Beck (People v Beck) asserted the same exact due-process violation, citing the same cases in the same fashion, his rationale was accepted?
What changed in those 13 intervening years? Did the Constitution change? How can it be unconstitutional now (post 2019) to use acquitted conduct at sentencing, yet constitutional to do so 13 years ago?
Furthermore, how come I –who already raised this issue– can be told that I’m barred from re-raising this issue simply because 13 years have passed? Doesn’t this scenario seem a bit insane? My judge punished me for a crime I was acquitted of, sentencing me to an extra 20 years in prison, yet, if my judge attempted to do the same thing in her courtroom today, she would be barred from doing so because that act has now been declared unconstitutional.
In your Beck opinion you stated: “This ends here.” And it did. For future generations. But for those of us sentenced for crimes we were acquitted of prior to People v Beck, the nightmare continues.
So I humbly ask you, Your Honor, is this justice? Should I spend an extra 20 years of my life in prison simply because the Supreme Court back in 2006 was more conservative and held different views than you do? To me this reeks of politics, not the law or justice.
Like you, I believe the idea of punishing someone for a crime they’ve been acquitted of is unconstitutional and judicially repugnant. So, following that logic, shouldn’t it also be unconstitutional and judicially repugnant to keep me (a man who was sentenced for a crime he was acquitted of) in prison for an extra twenty years simply because I filed my appeal 13 years too early. It seems to me that if anything, I was ahead of the curve on what was just and right, constitutional or unconstitutional.
Thank you for your time, Your Honor. And thank you for all your hard work and dedication to equality and justice.
Jerry Metcalf #251141
Thumb Correctional Facility
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One Comment
I really hope that you have a good rest of your life, Mr. Metcalf. I read your letter & it’s so sad to read about something like that. I wish I could do something to make you feel better. I don’t really know how to express how bad I feel when I imagine just how sad you probably are all of the time. Maybe if you just keep doing nice things for people, & you never stop doing them for as long as you can, someone might take pity on you. But that’s just so sad that you shot someone in 1995, I bet you would do anything to bring that man back to life. I hope your family visits you in prison, because you are probably pretty lonely. If you were to read this & be a little cheered up, that would really be wonderful. Take care, & may peace be with you !