People v. Datema

We granted leave to consider whether the misdemeanor-manslaughter rule1 should be abandoned in light of the change in Michigan’s homicide law resulting from this Court’s opinion in People v Aaron, 409 Mich 672; 299 NW2d 304 (1980). After careful consideration of the record, we decline the invitation to decriminalize responsibility for a death found to have been caused in fact by a person who struck his wife "a powerful blow” with the specific intent to injure her. As Aaron required proof of malice from the circumstances surrounding a felony to find second-degree murder, the instruction in…