Amy Lee Black of Western Michigan, who was given a life sentence when she was 16 years old, will be released from custody on parole next month after 32 years, a correctional spokeswoman revealed on Monday, August 8.
Amy Lee Black, 47, who was convicted of killing Dave VanBogelen in Muskegon County in 1990, will be freed from the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in the first week of September, according to Chris Gautz of the Michigan Department of Corrections.
She was a juvenile lifer, and as her offense was committed before the state’s Truth in Sentencing Act was passed in 1990, she would not have qualified for good time or disciplinary credit. After receiving a new sentence in August of last year, she was immediately qualified for parole because of her excellent time credits.
Her sentence was reportedly reduced in 2012 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life sentences for juveniles constituted cruel and unusual punishment. She received a sentence ranging from 35 to 60 years in August 2021.
She received three denials and one rejection between last August and the present.
During her initial sentencing, Amy Lee Black apparently regretted what she had done.
Black and her 50-year-old partner Jeffrey Abrahamson were found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with the killing of VanBogelen on December 7, 1990.
After being battered and stabbed, VanBogelen was dumped in Fruitport Township on a backroad. In addition to robbing the man of $1,500, Black and Abrahamson allegedly did so. Both received life sentences with no chance of parole.
Nothing I can do can make the mistakes I’ve made go away. I can’t expect any forgiveness, and I can’t ask for any either.
According to court documents, Amy Lee Black was ordered to pay $1.87 million in restitution to the victim or the victim’s estate. Muskegon County Circuit Judge William C. Marietti made the restitution ruling following a hearing on July 29, 2022.
The VanBogelen family was made aware of Amy Lee Black’s impending release from custody for the first time during the July 29 court session conducted by video conference.
Barb VanBogelen, the victim’s wife, stated to a number of sources that no agency has yet informed her family of Black’s release.
She sat there with a smug expression on her face and blurted it out in court, which is how we learned. I’m furious with the legal system as a whole. It has utterly failed my family. She shouldn’t be free because she is a killer with cold blood.
A few VanBogelen family members exited the courtroom after the judge read the reduced punishment. Some individuals turned away and covered their ears while Black spoke.