On Thursday, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald dismissed all charges against Juwan Deering.
McDonald addressed Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Matis and spoke of the pain caused by the misconduct uncovered by the special prosecutor. “The families of the five children who died in that fire have suffered pain that most of us could never imagine,” McDonald said. “Those five children died horrifically, and their families deserved certainty, and peace, and a time to heal. Instead, they have suffered the repeated reopening of their wounds. Today, there is nothing you or I can do to mitigate their pain, but we can at least acknowledge it. We owe it to the families of these children to hold ourselves to the highest standards and hold ourselves accountable.”
McDonald then dismissed all charges against Deering, and explained how she arrived at her decision. “In the hearing last week, I asserted that Juwan Deering’s constitutional rights were violated, that he did not receive a fair trial and that his conviction should be vacated. This court ordered Mr. Deering’s conviction be vacated.
“The next step was for the prosecutor to decide if a new trial will take place or if the charges against Mr. Deering should be dismissed.”
McDonald referenced the ethical guidelines and factors governing a prosecutor’s decision whether to continue pursuit of a case, including the strength of the case, the prosecutor’s doubt that the accused is in fact guilty, and any improper conduct by law enforcement. McDonald explained the process she followed, which involved convening a group of highly-experienced law-enforcement professionals, including
some of the most experienced prosecutors in her office, along with four Michigan State Police investigators.
“The group concluded, unanimously, that there was not sufficient credible evidence to charge Mr. Deering, and that the investigation had been totally compromised by misconduct that occurred between the time of the fire in 2000 through the trial in 2006,” McDonald said. “The 14th Amendment guarantees all of us equal protection under the law and affords us due process. The case of People v. Juwan Deering was fraught with missteps and misconduct. Juwan Deering did not receive a fair trial. There is only one ethical and constitutional remedy. On behalf of the People of the State of Michigan, I am formally dismissing the charges against Mr. Deering and I ask that you order his immediate release.”
Deering was freed from custody immediately after the hearing, and his arrest and conviction will be removed from his criminal record.
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