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Setting Themselves on Fire
Michigan officials approved parole for a man who was 16 when he decapitated another teen in 1996.
Frederico Cruz was initially sentenced to life without parole for killing David Crawford, 17, in Sparta. Cruz filmed himself decapitating Crawford and talking to his mutilated head, according to WOOD.
The news outlet reported that the video was so graphic it was not shown at his initial trial.
According to WWMT, Cruz attributed his actions to childhood abuse. He also said he believed at the time that he could communicate with demons.
Cruz’s resentencing was the result of Montgomery v. Louisiana, a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibited juveniles from automatically being sentenced to life in prison without parole. In turn, juveniles like Cruz were granted resentencing hearings which either upheld or amended their sentences.
While Cruz was resentenced in 2018 to life in prison, an appeals court ruled that his rights were violated.
In 2023, Cruz was resentenced to between 35 and 60 years in prison. He spent about 27 years in prison before the Michigan Department of Corrections approved his parole.
Records indicated that Cruz’s release is scheduled for March 1.
[Feature Photo: Michigan Department of Corrections]
