No New Trial for Marshall Man Convicted in 2016 Rape Case
A 38-year-old Marshall man had his appeal denied by the Michigan Supreme Court in an attempt have his case retried.
Jon Fox was sentenced in 2018 after he was found guilty of two counts of 1st-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, and a count each of Assault by Strangulation or Suffocation and Unlawful Imprisonment in a July 5, 2016, incident with his then-girlfriend. He is currently serving at least 23 years and eight months behind bars at the Bellamy State Correctional Facility in Ionia.
Fox submitted an appeal in February of 2019, arguing that he had received ineffective counsel before the trial ever began. Among the evidence in the argument was that Fox was never informed of the potential sentence he faced if he was found guilty and would have accepted a plea deal. According to the opinion from the Michigan Court of Appeals, Fox's counsel admitted to not informing him of the minimum sentence during the evidentiary hearing, but there were a number of instances that a plea bargain would have been denied due to constant claims of innocence.
Another argument of ineffective counsel involved the failure to object hearsay during testimony and a piece of evidence that was allowed in the case, that being the initial 911 call. Finally, there was an argument of prosecutorial misconduct.
The Michigan Court of Appeals heard the appeal of the case and made their determination May 20, 2020, that the sentence would stand and the decision in Calhoun County would stand.
On Tuesday, March 2nd, the Michigan Supreme Court confirmed the findings from the Court of Appeals does not warrant a new trial and the case would not be heard.
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