45th Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman held a continuation hearing Wednesday to determine whether Douglas S. Shuman can undergo resentencing on a 1997 murder conviction, following a Supreme Court decision that grants that right to certain juvenile offenders.
Shuman was convicted of murdering his parents, James and Arunee Shuman, on the evening of February 12, 1997. The father died after being shot, escaping their farmhouse near Three Rivers, and being hit by a car. Police arrived when the father was still onsite and alive. After a standoff, police broke into the house early the following morning and found the mother in bed, dead as the result of one or more gunshot wounds.
Police found and arrested Shuman, after which he admitted to shooting both his mother and his father. He was a senior at Three Rivers High School at the time. Neighbors alleged a troubled relationship between the convicted Shuman and his parents, and possible abuse by the father. In trial court. Shuman was convicted of murder and sentenced to two concurrent terms of life in prison. He also received two years for a felony-firearm conviction.
Shuman is now 40 years old and has served roughly 23 years of his sentence. At the time of the incident, he was 17 years, 7 months, and 7 days old. At issue is a series of decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and the Michigan Supreme Court that affect whether a juvenile offender can have a life sentence invalidated and receive a new sentence.
In 2016, SCOTUS upheld its 2012 Miller v Alabama decision, which retroactively invalidated mandatory life sentences for juveniles as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Ultimately, the decision forbids courts from denying resentencing hearings for all “juvenile lifers.” Other offenders so convicted have already been resentenced in other courts as a result of the SCOTUS rulings.
There have since been appeals cases before the Michigan Supreme Court that have clarified the terms under which a so-called “juvenile lifer” can seek resentencing as the issue pertains to Michigan law. Acting St. Joseph County Prosecutor Joshua Robare and Shuman’s attorney, Jacqueline Ouvry, agreed to delay the hearing that took place on Wednesday pending the outcome of the most recent such decision, which took place in May. Those decisions confirm that Shuman’s resentencing must proceed by law.
By Michigan statute, Ouvry said, “we’re required to hold a Miller hearing if the prosecutor files a motion seeking life without parole. If the prosecutor does not file or withdraws that motion, then your honor must, under that statute, proceed to a term-of-years resentencing, where the choice on the minimum is 25 to 40 years and the maximum is 60.” Robare did not object to the resentencing moving forward, and Stutesman granted the motion allowing it to proceed.
Stutesman set the resentencing for September 24 to permit any interested parties to be contacted, including victims, and to allow preparation time. The Department of Corrections must now re-interview Shuman and collect other information that will have bearing on the new sentence. Ouvry can also provide information. “Since he has served 23 years at this point, the choice your honor has to make between 25 and 40 years is a meaningful choice, and we would like to submit a sentencing memorandum to provide guidance to your honor for a proportionate sentence,” she said.
Ouvry said a resentencing under the Miller decision is subject to “factors including juvenile brain development, the family history in which the defendant was raised and could not extricate himself, any peer pressures that may have been present, interaction with the criminal justice system, circumstances of the offense, and most importantly for these older cases where people like Mr. Shuman have spent a few decades in prison, the factor or rehabilitation weighs heavily.”
Shuman’s sentence has come up in court once before. In 2000, he appealed his earlier conviction on grounds that the prosecution “failed to present sufficient evidence for the jury to find either that the defendant premeditated his mother’s death or that his actions caused his father’s death,” court documents said, as well as other alleged issues during arrest and prosecution. The Michigan Appeals Court upheld his conviction at that time.
Following Wednesday’s hearing, Stutesman also held another resentencing hearing under similar circumstances also involving a “juvenile lifer.” Like Shuman, Donnie Davis was convicted as a juvenile in the murders of his parents, Donald Ray and Edith Davis, in their home in 1980. The convicted Davis’ resentencing will take place on the afternoon of September 24, following Shuman’s resentencing.
Stutesman permitted both Shuman and Davis the opportunity to appear in person for their resentencing hearings, but due to pandemic safety concerns and scheduling matters, Ouvry said her clients would proceed with video trials.
Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
