ND Supreme Court affirms judgment and sentence for man who plead guilty to deadly stabbing in Grand Forks

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — North Dakota Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Cazmere Haskins who claimed his sentence for a deadly stabbing in 2024 was cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.

In December 2024, Haskins changed his plea to guilty for the murder of 24-year-old Anfernee Economy of Grand Forks and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Haskins was 17 at the time of the murder but was charged as an adult in Grand Forks County Court.

He claimed he was acting in self-defense.

In February, the supreme court affirmed the judgment and left his 40–year sentence in place.

The court opinion said, “Haskins’s forty-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to his offense
and does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth
Amendment.”