DETROIT – The man accused of kidnapping Wynter Cole Smith after attacking her mother in Lansing is facing federal kidnapping charges.
Federal prosecutors have charged Rashad Maleek Trice, 26, of Detroit, with kidnapping a minor and kidnapping resulting in death.
If Trice is found guilty of kidnapping resulting in death he could face the death penalty. A kidnapping resulting in death charges comes with a minimum sentence of life in prison and is death penalty eligible, according to prosecutors.
If convicted of the kidnapping a minor charge, he would be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison with a possible life sentence.
Trice is also facing state charges in Ingham County and Macomb County. Trice is accused of assaulting Wynter’s mother in Lansing and kidnapping Wynter.
An Amber Alert for Wynter was issued after 2 a.m. Monday, July 3. Trice was arrested before 5 a.m. Monday after a brief police chase and crash in St. Clair Shores. Wynter was not with him.
Detroit police found Wynter’s body in an alley nearly three full days after she first was reported missing.
Read: Suspected kidnapper officially charged in death of 2-year-old Wynter Cole Smith
Michigan’s history with the death penalty
The last person to face the death penalty in Michigan was executed by the federal government on July 8, 1938.
Michigan was the first state to abolish the death penalty for ordinary crimes on May 4, 1846. The 1938 execution was the first since Michigan abolished the death penalty.
Currently, there is only one person on death row in Michigan. In 2002, Marvin Charles Gabrion was convicted of murdering Rachel Timmerman on federal property in Michigan. Gabrion was sentenced to death. He has continued to appeal that sentence. An execution day has not been set.
More: Michigan’s last execution 84 years ago: That man’s story and a look at the death penalty today
Federal death penalty
There have been 50 federal executions carried out since 1927.
There were no executions carried out in the 1970s through the 1990s or in the 2010s.
The Justice Department, under former President Donald Trump, resumed federal executions in 2020 after a 17-year hiatus.
The Trump administration carried out 13 federal executions -- an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
No president in more than 120 years had overseen as many federal executions.
There are currently no federal executions scheduled.