Lighter sentence possible for man who reported false threat
BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) — A northern Michigan man who pleaded guilty to telling the FBI about a false plot against a former federal prosecutor could get a lighter sentence after a successful appeal.
Michael Bourquin was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison after his guidelines were enhanced by the cost of the government’s investigation. But an appeals court last week found a problem: The government didn’t provide details of substantial costs.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington “committed procedural error” by applying the sentencing enhancement, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The government won’t be allowed to supplement the record when the case returns to Ludington’s court in Bay City, the appeals court said.
In 2017, Bourquin told the FBI that a motorcycle gang had targeted former Detroit U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. The government said it interviewed a prisoner in North Carolina as part of the investigation and provided protection for McQuade.
Defense attorney James Piazza said investigators knew the threat was fake within 24 hours.
“I believed a credible threat,” Bourquin, a retired police officer who lives in Oscoda, told the judge in 2019. “There’s something — look on the internet — psychic dreams. I’ve had them before. The little voice in your head. ... But I realize now how insane that was.”
Michigan newspaper chain will stop publishing mug shots
DETROIT (AP) — A chain of eight Michigan newspapers will stop publishing mug shots of people charged with crimes except in extraordinary cases as it seeks to stop perpetuating negative perceptions of people, especially minorities, a senior editor said Thursday.
The photos imply guilt long before trial and are indefinitely attached to news stories on the internet, no matter the outcome of a criminal case, said John Hiner, vice president of content at MLive Media Group.
“Practices that we have followed for decades are due for a fresh look,” Hiner told readers. “Upon such review, we have determined that the reflexive use of mug shots does more to foster negative perceptions than to provide understanding to our readers.”
Mug shots are photos of people charged with crimes. They’re released by police departments, especially under public record requests, though not all. San Francisco police recently stopped releasing photos unless a person poses a threat to the public.
MLive publishes The Grand Rapids Press as well as newspapers in Ann Arbor, Saginaw, Flint, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Bay City and Jackson. It also runs MLive.com.
Hiner said a new policy was under discussion for a while. But he noted that a Black woman last week asked a reporter why mug shots of minorities were regularly published.
“We have to listen, and we have to change,” Hiner said.
Hiner said police photos will be used in coverage of crimes involving public figures, fugitives or as part of courtroom reporting of high-profile cases.
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