(WWJ) An 83-year-old man who was convicted in the murder of a child in 1962 has been resentenced to life in prison without parole.
James Gostlin, who was 20 years old at the time, murdered 11-year-old Shirley Husted while attempting to steal her father's car.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Shirley tried to help her dad when Gostlin attacked him with a hammer. Gostlin then killed the girl with the hammer, before kidnapping and raping the girl's mother.
“My heart is with Shirley Husted today,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, in a statement Friday. “She was just 11 when she was taken from her family. This process has forced her loved ones to relive this horrific tragedy, and their pain should never be forgotten.”
Mandatory life without parole sentences for those 20 years old or younger were ruled unconstitutional by the Michigan Supreme Court.
McDonald said all cases that fall under the ruling are being reviewed, adding that her office is only asking the courts to consider life sentences "in the most egregious cases."