To be arrested and convicted of any felony charge in Kalamazoo is a very serious matter. Most may require that one be sent to prison for an extended period of time. And as is the case with most anything in life, the more serious the charge a defendant is facing, the more attention will often be paid by prosecutors in earning a conviction. High profile felony cases will typically be assigned to the best prosecutors. All of this amounts to a potentially extreme uphill battle one may be faced with in the effort to clear his or her name.

A Kalamazoo man recently received some good news and bad news from the court regarding two potential felony cases against him. The good news turned out to be that prosecutors had decided not to pursue the charges pending against him for dog fighting. The bad news: the reason the dog fighting case dropped was due to his recent conviction on first degree murder charges stemming from a 2011 shooting. Despite his maintaining his innocence, the court handed down a sentence of life in prison without the possibility for parole, along with an additional four to five years for gun charges related to the shooting.

Such penalties are usually reserved for felonies due to the serious and/or violent nature of the crimes that were committed. Unlike with a misdemeanor, punishments often are geared towards more punitive action than rehabilitation. Anyone facing a potential felony charge but still hoping to avoid an extended prison stay may do well to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to help with his or her case.

Source: Mlive Kalamazoo “Samuel Steel gets life sentence for 2011 murder in Kalamazoo” Rex Hall Jr, Sep. 30, 2013