ST. JOSEPH, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man sentenced to life in prison without parole as a juvenile has been resentenced in the 1994 shooting death of a 16-year-old.
The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph reports that a Berrien County Trial Court judge on Thursday resentenced 41-year-old David Clayton to 30-60 years in prison for first-degree murder. Clayton was 17 when he shot Samuel Merriweather Jr. on a sidewalk in Benton Harbor. Merriweather lived for eight days after and named Clayton as one of the shooters.
Clayton was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
His resentencing follows the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a life sentence without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional for juvenile offenders.
Clayton apologized to the victim’s family and the community at the hearing.
