GRAND RAPIDS nEGRO (MINOR AT THE TIME OF THE CRIME),WHO KIDNAPPED AND MURDERED A WHITE MAN,IN 1996,IS RESENTENCED BY nEGRESS JUDGE FOR PURPOSES OF PAROLE IN TEN YEARS

Anonymous said... GRAND RAPIDS nEGRO (MINOR AT THE TIME OF THE CRIME),WHO KIDNAPPED AND MURDERED A WHITE MAN,IN 1996,IS RESENTENCED BY nEGRESS JUDGE FOR PURPOSES OF PAROLE IN TEN YEARS GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A man sentenced to life in prison for a murder he committed at age 16 will eventually have the chance to walk out of prison after a judge resentenced him Tuesday. (negro)Paul Carter, 46, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 for a litany of charges stemming from the kidnapping, murder(of a White man)and attempted murder of another. On Tuesday, Kent County Circuit Judge(negress)Christina Mims resentenced Carter to 40 to 60 years for felony murder and 40 to 60 years for kidnapping considering his age at the time of the crime. The charges will be served at the same time. He originally faced 50 to 80 years in prison for kidnapping in addition to life. “While Mr. Carter could be classified as one of the rarest of juvenile offenders, I am unwilling to impose life without parole on him because of his youth at the time of this offense. I just simply don’t believe a 16-year-old should be thrown into prison forever without any chance at redemption, release or a life,” the judge said while reading her decision to the courtroom. (GRA: Mims was the judge in the Christopher Schurr/Patrick Lyoya case, during which she showed an obvious slant against the White policeman, Schurr.) But she also acknowledged Carter, who was on juvenile parole at the time, was the apparent leader of the “horrendous” and “diabolical” crime. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told News 8 that he was disappointed with the outcome of the hearing. “This was an atrocious crime — one of the worst in Kent County,” he said. “That is one of the things we argued and juvenile life is supposed to be reserved for the rarest cases and this, in our opinion, is one of the rarest cases.” In 1995, Carter and Juan Cantu, both 16 at the time, abducted Daniel VanTatenhove and Arthur Zima Jr. while the pair were looking for VanTatenhove’s stolen car on Grand Rapids’ southeast side. Carter and Cantu then drove the pair north to an area near Howard City, where they attempted to rob them before driving to a more remote location in Montcalm County. While there, Carter took VanTatenhove into the woods and shot him four times. Carter tried to shoot Zima, but was unsuccessful. He then forced Zima to move VanTatenhove into the trunk of the car while he was still alive. Zima later escaped and led investigators to the car, where they discovered his friend’s body. In 1996, Carter and Cantu were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — the mandatory sentence for those found guilty of felony murder. In prison,Carter has had 26 violations of behavior since turning 40. GRA:He's about as ready to be released as any mass murderer you can choose.. --GRA Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at 6:25:00 PM EST