Photo: greenleaf123 / iStock / Getty Images
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Paul Carter, now 46, has been resentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison for his role in a 1995 murder committed when he was 16. Originally sentenced to life without parole, Carter's case was revisited following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional. On Tuesday (December 30), a Kent County Circuit Judge issued the new sentence, which will be served concurrently for felony murder and kidnapping charges.
Carter and Juan Cantu, both 16 at the time, abducted Daniel VanTatenhove and Arthur Zima Jr. in Grand Rapids. They drove the victims to a remote location in Montcalm County, where Carter shot VanTatenhove four times. Zima was forced to move VanTatenhove into the trunk while he was still alive. Zima later escaped, leading police to VanTatenhove's body.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker expressed disappointment with the resentencing, calling the crime "atrocious" and arguing that it was one of the rare cases that warranted a life sentence. However, Judge Christina Mims cited Carter's age at the time of the crime as a reason for not imposing life without parole, despite acknowledging the severity of the crime.
Carter's resentencing marks the end of the juvenile lifer cases in Kent County. Cantu, Carter's co-defendant, was resentenced in 2016 to 40 to 60 years in prison but died while incarcerated. The resentencing process has reopened old wounds for the victims' families, who believed the original sentences were final.
