Appeals court affirms man's sentence in 2006 Ionia County murder

IONIA — The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s first-degree murder sentence out of Ionia County.

Justin Dewayne Stephens, 34, was convicted by a jury of the November 2006 murder of Bernita Cunningham, an 80-year-old Hubbardston woman.

Stephens was originally sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder and 8-15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for second-degree home invasion in 2011 in Ionia County's Eighth Circuit Court. 

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Stephens appealed his convictions and sentence. The Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions, but remanded him for resentencing. He was sentenced to 40-60 years in prison for his murder conviction in October 2022, again in Ionia County Eighth Circuit Court. 

Stephens then appealed his resentence. The COA issued an unpublished opinion Thursday, April 11, affirming the resentence of 40-60 years in prison.  

Stephens argued the circuit court failed to adequately consider his youth as a mitigating factor as required by law, “and that it imposed a disproportionate and therefore unreasonable sentence,” according to the COA opinion. The COA disagreed, saying the record in the case shows the circuit court “gave thorough and well-reasoned consideration to the defendant’s age as it affected the proportionality of his sentence,” according to the opinion. Stephens was 17 at the time of the murder.

The circuit court noted Stephens “had expressed genuine remorse for killing the victim” and acknowledged the possibility he could potentially be a law-abiding citizen after release from prison. However, an evaluation from MDOC was presented to circuit court that classified Stephens as “having a high risk of recidivism and a medium risk for violence."

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The circuit court also noted Stephens “committed numerous crimes in Texas” after the murder. At the resentencing hearing, the circuit court noted inconsistencies in Stephens’ testimony about the murder. The circuit court said, although Stephens claimed to not remember the crime, he confessed to police that he grabbed an object from a shelf and struck Cunningham, according to the opinion. 

The court considered Stephens’ age but also considered the sentencing objective of deterrence, the protection of society and the discipline of the defendant — according to the opinion. It also considered the "horrific nature" of the crime and the suffering of Cunningham’s family. 

The COA concluded Stephens didn’t demonstrate his sentence was unreasonable and disproportionate under the circumstances of the case, or that the circuit court failed to adequately consider his youth in imposing the sentence for first-degree murder. The COA ruled the circuit court didn’t abuse its discretion in resentencing Stephens. 

Stephens is incarcerated at Alger Correctional Facility in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, according to MDOC’s Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS). Stephens’ earliest release date from prison is in August 2050. 

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.