Sufficiency of the evidence; Second-degree murder; Self-defense; MCL 780.972(1)(a); Sentencing proportionality; Cruel or unusual punishment; Ineffective assistance of counsel; Failure to request voluntary-manslaughter instruction; People v Yeager; Remand for a Ginther hearing

The court held that sufficient evidence supported defendant’s second-degree murder conviction and his sentence was proportionate and constitutional, but a Ginther hearing was necessary to determine whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a voluntary-manslaughter instruction. Defendant stabbed the victim after the victim arrived at defendant’s home, approached the front door with a brick, and demanded that defendant come outside. Although defendant testified that he feared for himself and his daughter, other witnesses testified that he unlocked and opened the door and immediately stabbed the victim while the victim remained on the porch. The court concluded that a rational jury could find defendant “did not hold an honest and reasonable belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm[.]” It also rejected his sentencing challenges. His 408-month minimum fell within the 270-to-562-month guidelines range and was therefore presumptively proportionate. Defendant identified no unusual circumstances overcoming that presumption, and his potential advanced age at release did not make the sentence cruel or unusual. As to ineffective assistance, however, a rational view of the evidence supported a voluntary manslaughter instruction. The events included an escalating argument, a physical fight in which defendant was punched, defendant’s anger and agitation, and the victim’s aggressive arrival with a brick. The court concluded that “the record contained the modicum of evidence required to justify an instruction of voluntary manslaughter.” Because the existing record did not disclose why counsel failed to request the instruction, the court could not determine whether the omission reflected reasonable strategy or deficient performance. Affirmed in part, but remanded.