Livingston County Circuit Court has slammed the brakes on the parole of a Sterling Heights man convicted in a 1993 rape and kidnapping, stopping his planned March 10 release. The order applies to 67-year-old Floyd Jarvi, who had been granted parole by the Michigan Parole Board earlier this year. The emergency stay, filed on behalf of the survivor, pauses Jarvi’s release while a court considers an appeal.
Judge halts release
The court granted the stay on Feb. 27 after the Michigan Attorney General’s office filed an emergency application asking the judge to block Jarvi’s release, according to WILX. The filing urged the Livingston County Circuit Court to put the Parole Board’s order on hold while the Attorney General pursues an appeal. Officials say Jarvi remains in custody at the Central Michigan Correctional Facility during the review.
Attorney general appeals
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced in January that her office would ask the circuit court to reverse the Parole Board’s decision to free Jarvi, according to a press release from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. “Mr. Jarvi continues to show a lack of remorse for his heinous crimes,” Nessel said in the statement. The release notes that Jarvi pleaded no-contest in 1994 to multiple counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, armed robbery and felony-firearm, and was sentenced to 23 to 60 years. The Attorney General’s office also said the Parole Board granted Jarvi’s latest request on Jan. 6 and set his release date for March 10.
Case history and survivor's reaction
Jarvi first became eligible for parole in 2014 and was repeatedly denied until October 2022, local reporting shows. The Parole Board later reversed its own decision before granting his latest request. The survivor, Wendy Morrison, told WXYZ that Jarvi’s potential release renewed her trauma. “It feels like my prison sentence now starts, you know? Because he’s everywhere if you don’t know where he is,” she said.
What happens next
The Attorney General’s office has filed an emergency application for leave to appeal in Livingston County. The circuit court’s stay keeps Jarvi behind bars while judges review that request, according to reporting by The Detroit News. Court records reviewed in that reporting did not list an attorney for Jarvi following the stay.
Legal implications
If the circuit court sides with the Attorney General, it could reverse the Parole Board’s decision and keep Jarvi in custody. If not, the board’s order would stand and the Department of Corrections would begin steps to transition him to supervision. The Michigan Parole Board is the state’s sole paroling authority and its decisions can be subject to judicial review, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
