People v. Lymon

• Docket Number: 327355
• Decision Date: 16 June 2022
• Parties: PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CORA LADANE LYMON also known as COREY LYMON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

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PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
CORA LADANE LYMON also known as COREY LYMON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 327355

Court of Appeals of Michigan

June 16, 2022

Wayne Circuit Court LC No. 14-010811-01-FC.

Before: Michael J. Kelly, P.J., and Kirsten Frank Kelly and Amy Ronayne Krause, JJ.

M. J. Kelly, J.

Defendant, Cora Lymon, appeals of right from his jury-trial convictions of three counts of torture, MCL 750.85; three counts of unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.349b; one count of felonious assault, MCL 750.82; and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony-firearm), MCL 750.227b. He was sentenced to 126 to 240 months' imprisonment for the torture convictions, 84 to 180 months' imprisonment for the unlawful imprisonment convictions, 24 to 48 months' imprisonment for the felonious assault conviction, and two years' imprisonment for the felony-firearm conviction, to be served consecutively to the other sentences. Additionally, because two of his unlawful imprisonment convictions involved minors, he was placed on the sex offender registry as a Tier I offender under the Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA), MCL 28.721 et seq.^[1] On appeal, Lymon argues that there was insufficient evidence to sustain his torture convictions. He also asserts that, because his conviction of unlawful imprisonment of a minor lacked a sexual component, his placement on the sex offender registry violates the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and Article I, § 16 of Michigan's 1963 Constitution, which

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prohibits cruel or unusual punishment.^[2] For the reasons stated in this opinion, we affirm his convictions, but remand for entry of an order removing Lymon from the sex offender registry.^[3]

I. BASIC FACTS

On September 5, 2014, Lymon confronted his wife, Jacqueline Lymon, with what he believed was proof that she was having extramarital affairs. His children, both of whom were minors, were present during the confrontation. When Jacqueline stated that she did not believe him, he said he had text messages to prove it, but, instead of showing her messages, he broke his phone by slamming it onto the table. He left the house to fix his phone, and when he returned, his argument with Jacqueline continued. Eventually, she stated that she wanted to end the marriage. Lymon called her a "cold-hearted bitch" and a "whore." He then fetched his handgun from the pantry. One of the children testified that Lymon "cocked" the gun, and the other saw a bullet enter the chamber when Lymon pulled the slide back.

Lymon pointed the gun at Jacqueline and made her sit at the table. He told her that she was "cold" and "should have left him a long time ago." Jacqueline stood up with her back to the door. One of the children moved to stand in front of her, so Lymon pointed the gun at his child. The child pleaded with him to calm down, saying, "dad, that's our mother. Let's not take it this far." Lymon sat down, but continued to hold the gun and complain that Jacqueline had "done him wrong for so many years." He again pointed the gun at his child and told him, "Well, you can get it, too."

Ranting and raving, Lymon forced Jacqueline and the children to move to the sofa in the family room. While pointing the gun at them, he told his children, "if I kill her, I'm gonna have to kill you guys, too." They described him as angry, noting that his veins were "popping out." They begged and pleaded for their lives, holding their mother and prayed to God that Lymon would not kill their mother. Lymon demanded, "What about me? Don't you love me?" The children, crying and upset, said that they did but that "right now" he was trying to kill their mother. Lymon made Jacqueline and the children get off the sofa and kneel in front of the fireplace. He again

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stated that he was going to kill them. One of the children testified that they were all screaming at the top of their lung, hoping that the neighbors would hear them.

Jacqueline tried to get Lymon to think about God, but he responded "F God." She told him that she thought "angels are here to protect us." Lymon warned that she was "gonna see angels; you're gonna see a lot of angels in a minute." He then stated, "This is it" and held the gun up. Jacqueline and the children closed their eyes and braced themselves because they feared they were about to die, but Lymon did not shoot them. Instead, he separated Jacqueline from the children. He paced and continued to make comments that if he killed Jacqueline, he had to kill the children because they "wouldn't be able to take it." He also said he was going to do "demonic . . . shit" and was "gonna burn this thing down after I kill you all."

Eventually, he had Jacqueline sit on the sofa next to him. He asked questions and when he did not like the answer, he would hit or slap the back of her head. One of the children told him to stop. Lymon pointed the gun at him and asked what he was going to do about it. He continued to call Jacqueline a bitch and a whore while he had the gun pointed at her side.

At one point, Lymon put the gun in his mouth and told his family to pull the trigger. They did not do so. At another point, Lymon went into the kitchen. One of the children got up from the floor and ran out of the house. He described that he was "freaking out," "scared," and was having trouble breathing. He got to the driveway and stopped because his mother and brother were still inside. Lymon instructed Jacqueline to go and get the child. She went out and convinced him to return to the home because of what might happen to his brother if he did not. She also told him that they could calm Lymon down.

After they returned to the house, Lymon continued to put the gun in his own mouth and point it at his head. They told him not to, that they loved him, and asked him to calm down. He seemed to calm. He allowed everyone to sit on the sofa and placed the gun on a table near to him. He did not permit anyone to leave the room. When the children needed to use the bathroom, he told them that they could urinate against the wall or in a cup because he was "going to burn it down anyway." Around midnight, one of the children was able to retrieve his phone, set an alarm for the morning, and go upstairs. He did not call the police because he was afraid, and after a few minutes, Lymon ordered him to come back downstairs.

Lymon kept Jacqueline and the children in the family room until morning. At some point, someone turned on the television. No one paid attention to it, however, because Lymon still had the gun. The children slept fitfully. One explained that his difficulty sleeping was because he thought he would get killed while he slept. In the morning, Lymon apologized; the children told him that he had just had a bad night and that they would simply forget about it. Lymon drove one child to work and again apologized for his actions. When he returned, he apologized to the other child and agreed that Jacqueline could take that child with her when she went to work. Later in the day, Jacqueline picked up both children and they made a police report.

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II. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

A. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Lymon first argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions of torture. This Court reviews de novo challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence. People v Miller, 326 Mich.App. 719, 735; 929 N.W.2d 821 (2019). The evidence presented at the trial is reviewed "in a light most favorable to the prosecutor to determine whether any trier of fact could find the essential elements of the crime were proven beyond a reasonable doubt." People v Reese, 491 Mich. 127, 139; 815 N.W.2d 85 (2012) (quotation marks and citation omitted). "The standard of review is deferential: a reviewing court is required to draw all reasonable inferences and make credibility choices in support of the jury verdict." People v Nowak, 462 Mich. 392, 400; 614 N.W.2d 78 (2000). "Circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences arising from that evidence can constitute satisfactory proof of the elements of a crime." People v Carines, 460 Mich. 750, 757; 597 N.W.2d 130 (1999) (quotation marks and citation omitted). "Minimal circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences can sufficiently prove the defendant's state of mind, knowledge, or intent." Miller, 326 Mich.App. at 735.

B. ANALYSIS

Torture is defined in MCL 750.85, which states, in relevant part:

(1) A person who, with the intent to cause cruel or extreme physical or mental pain and suffering, inflicts great bodily injury or severe mental pain or suffering upon another person within his or her custody or physical control commits torture and is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years

(2) As used in this section

(a) "Cruel" means brutal, inhuman, sadistic, or that which torments

(b) "Custody or physical control" means the forcible restriction of a person's movements or forcible confinement of the person so as to interfere with that person's liberty, without that person's consent or without lawful authority.

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(d) "Severe mental pain or suffering" means a mental injury that results in a substantial alteration of mental functioning that is manifested in a visibly demonstrable manner caused by or resulting from any of the following:

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(iii) The threat of imminent death.

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(iv) The threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, great bodily injury, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt the senses or personality.

Jacqueline and the children did not sustain any physical injuries. Consequently, to establish torture, the prosecution was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) Lymon intended to...