After serving a bit more than 19 years in prison for a second-degree murder conviction from 1995, Malcolm B. Benson was set free — although on parole. And he killed again.
Had Michigan’s current sentencing rules been in place, Benson wouldn’t have been released until 2017. But they were not.
Freed on parole Jan. 13, 2015, Benson was convicted of robbing and killing a man at a bus stop in Highland Park Sept. 23. On Thursday, a Wayne County judge sentenced him to life for prison.
Initially charged with first-degree murder in 1995 — he was 29 then — Benson entered a plea deal with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. With the deal, he still had a chance to escape the confines of bars and barbed wire before leaving this world.
He was sentenced to between 20 and 40 years in prison for the second-degree murder and an additional 2 years for felony use of a firearm.
Today, that sentence would require Benson to serve no less than 22 years in prison. With the old rules, he served about 19.
Holly Kramer, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, explained why Benson didn’t serve 22 years.