By James Windell
Edwin Lamar Langston, convicted of first degree murder in 1976 in the shooting death of Arretta Lou Ingraham, will be resentenced in Van Buren Circuit Court on September 4, 2026.
According to Langston’s attorney, Mira Edmonds, a telephone conference with Van Buren County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Brickley on August 13, 2025, resulted in a decision to resentence Langston. Langston has been serving a life-without-parole term since he was convicted in 1976.
On December 1, 1975, Ronald Wilson, of Gary, Indiana, attempted to rob the Maple Street Grocery in South Haven that was owned by Wilbur and Arretta Lou Ingraham. During the robbery Wilson shot Mrs. Ingraham and she died at the scene. Both Wilson and Edwin Lamar Langston, a South Haven resident, were apprehended soon after the shooting. Although Langston was not in the store during the shooting, he had helped plan the robbery and was, like Wilson, charged with first degree murder.
At the time of Langston’s trial, Michigan’s felony‑murder rule made the charge for a killing that happened during certain dangerous felonies – like robbery, arson, or burglary – automatically first‑degree murder, even if the defendant didn’t intend to kill anyone or wasn’t the person who pulled the trigger.
Four years later, in the case of People v. Aaron, the Michigan Supreme Court abolished the old common‑law felony‑murder rule. In this 1980 ruling, the Court held that malice must be proven even when the killing occurs during the commission of a felony. The Court defined malice as an intent to kill, an intent to cause great bodily harm, and/or wanton and willful disregard. Based on this ruling, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to review Langston’s conviction. Although Michigan’s felony‑murder rule still stands, the prosecution must prove malice.
In July, 2026, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Langston’s jury should have been instructed on malice. The Court remanded the case back to the Van Buren Circuit Court to determine whether malice could have been found in Langston’s 1976 trial. The August 13, 2026, phone conference with the agreement to resentence Langston means there will not be a new trial.
Judge Brickley can impose life without parole again only if she finds – based solely on the 1976 trial record – that a properly instructed jury would have found malice. If she cannot make that finding, then she may not lawfully re‑impose life without parole, and Langston must instead receive a sentence that makes him eligible for parole.
