Court of Appeals affirms grandson's conviction

LANSING (AP) -- The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of a teenager in the fatal shooting of his grandfather but is sending the case back to the trial court for resentencing. Dakotah Eliason was charged as an adult in the March 7, 2010, killing of 69-year-old Jesse Miles at his home in the southwestern Michigan community of Buchanan. Eliason was 14 years old at the time. He was sentenced to life without parole. The appeals court decision came last Friday. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states cannot mandate life sentences without parole for juvenile defenders. The decision left open the possibility that individual judges could sentence juveniles to life without parole in individual murder cases. Eliason's attorney Jonathon Sacks says he plans to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. Published: Tue, Apr 9, 2013