LANSING, MI — A judge did not err in the trial of a Saginaw woman convicted of torturing and assaulting a mentally disabled man, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Appellate judges Mark T. Boonstra, Stephen L. Borrello, and Michael J. Kelly last month upheld a jury's December 2011 decision regarding Henretta T. Little, convicted of three felonies regarding a man who lived with her and Little's cousin and co-defendant, Laprincess Jones.
Little, now 31, was convicted of torture, kidnapping, and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and was sentenced to 18 years and nine months to 41 years and eight months in prison.
The victim lived with Little and Jones at 1112 S. Jefferson in Saginaw. The judges wrote that the man testified that he was not allowed to leave the house and that Little injured his legs and feet by striking him with a hammer on multiple occasions.
The man also testified that Little “forced him to sleep in a chest-like bench that was locked shut at the end of her bed,” the judges wrote.
Laprincess L. Jones
Jones, who accepted a plea agreement and testified against Little at trial, "would hold him down while Little abused him," the judges wrote, but also once hit him with the hammer.
Little's appeal centered on Jones' plea agreement. In her appeal, Little argued that Saginaw County Circuit Judge James T. Borchard should have allowed her attorney to question Jones on the maximum penalties Jones faced with her original charges and should have instructed the jurors on the same.
Borchard did neither, stating that it was improper for the jury to hear the maximum penalties of the charges because Little faced the same charges. Both torture and kidnapping carry maximum penalties of life in prison with the possibility of parole, while the assault charge carries a 10-year maximum penalty.
The appellate judges upheld Borchard's decision.
“(Little's) lawyer had a reasonable opportunity to challenge Jones' credibility on the basis of her plea deal and inconsistent statements,” the judges wrote. “(Borchard) was also legitimately concerned that the jury should not learn about the penalties for torture and kidnapping to avoid the possibility that the jury's verdict might be motivated by sympathy or prejudice.”
Little's trial was postponed two days after it began when she said she was going into labor. Court officials said Little's medical records indicated that she did not actually go into labor, and the trial continued the next week.
She remains imprisoned at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti. Her earliest release date is Aug. 26, 2030. Jones' earliest release date from the Huron Valley prison is Jan. 13, 2017.
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