5/3/13 - An ongoing hearing in Genesee County Circuit Court will determine whether the advice given to the mother of a murdered Argentine Township boy was not up to par. In August of 2010, 27-year-old Corrine Baker was ordered to serve between 13 and 30 years in prison for her guilty plea to second degree murder in the death of her son, 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun. Her plea also required her to testify against her ex-boyfriend, 26-year-old Brandon Hayes, who is serving a mandatory term of life in prison without parole after being convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and torture in the boy's death. But Baker is currently seeking to withdraw her plea by claiming the advice given to her by her attorney was ineffective. Baker claims her attorney said the only way she would be able to testify against Hayes was by accepting the plea. The Tri-County Times reports that hearing, called a Ginther Hearing in Michigan, challenges Bakerâs plea and could overturn her conviction. Meanwhile her parents, Martin and Julie Baker, have adopted Dominickâs half-brother, 11-year-old Tyler Baker, after Corrine lost parental rights. The process was finalized in March and the family is now living together in Tyrone Township. (TD/JK)
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