GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Knowing he was about to be deported, convicted murderer Antonio Garcia-Dorantes' comment during a Tuesday re-sentencing hearing might seem odd to observers,.
"God bless America," the 38-year-old told a Kent County Circuit Court judge.
Garcia-Dorantes, whose case involves a set of strange legal turns, was sentenced to "time served" on a charge of second-degree murder Tuesday, June 28.
Instead of being set free, however, he's being released to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for deportation to Mexico.
Garcia-Dorantes' odd circumstances involve him being paroled in 2015 after serving 15 years in prison for a 2001 second-degree murder conviction. Also last year, he won long-progressing criminal appeal for a new trial because of jury pool issues.
Rather than go back to trial, he agreed to plead no contest in May to second-degree murder with a guarantee of being sentenced to "time served."
The only caveat is that he would be handed over to ICE.
Tuesday in court, Garcia-Dorantes told the judge he was a changed man.
"I'm different. My goal is to get out and help the community," he said.
He apologized to the victim's family from the 2000 stabbing, during a street fight, that left Jose Delores Gomez dead.
He also apologized to his family, prosecutors, the state and "this wonderful country, the United States."
Judge Donald Johnston adhered to the plea deal and said Garcia-Dorantes must have done well in prison to be released after 15 years of a 15- 50-year sentence.
The jury pool issue from 2001 involved a computer glitch that caused too few jury notices to go to Grand Rapids area predominantly populated by minorities. Johnston said it mostly entailed too few black jurors.
Some of Garcia-Dorantes' relatives were in court Tuesday, including his 16-year-old daughter, Carolyn.
Family members said his mother and father still live in Mexico so he will be able to spend time with them and other relatives.
They plan to visit him in Mexico.
E-mail John Tunison: jtunison@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/johntunison