Man resentenced for murder in 1962 death of 11-year-old girl, Oakland County Prosecutor's Office says
A circuit court judge in Oakland County, Michigan, resentenced a man for first-degree murder in the 1962 death of an 11-year-old girl on Friday.
James Gostlin, 83, was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Shirley Husted, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office said.
Gostlin was 20 years old when he attacked Shirley Husted's father, Westley Husted, with a hammer and tried to steal his car, according to the prosecutor's office. When Shirley Husted went to help her father, Gostlin killed her with the hammer, officials said, and then kidnapped and sexually assaulted her mother.
He was originally sentenced to life in prison for murder in November 1963, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Last spring, the Michigan Supreme Court, in a 5-2 opinion, said that mandatory life sentences for people who were 19 and 20 at the time of the crime violate a ban against "cruel or unusual punishment" in the Michigan Constitution. The court made a similar decision for 18-year-olds in 2022.
"Consistent with the Supreme Court's ruling, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing all life without parole sentences for offenders who were 20 years or younger and only asking courts to consider life sentences in the most egregious cases," the agency said in a news release Friday.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a written statement, "My heart is with Shirley Husted today. She was just 11 when she was taken from her family. This process has forced her loved ones to relive this horrific tragedy, and their pain should never be forgotten."
McDonald said earlier this month that 79 prisoners are eligible for resentencing because of the Supreme Court's ruling.