Evan Dixon’s murder case remains paused while the Michigan Supreme Court decides if diminished capacity is a viable defense in the state. Dixon hopes to use the defense in his upcoming trial for the November 2023 murder of Theron Duncan.
The case is stayed as the court considers diminished capacity in another case from Ottawa County, People v. Cinecca Madison. That case revisits a 2001 decision in People v. Carpenter, which ruled diminished capacity could not be used because it was not specifically defined in a 1975 law concerning the insanity defense. The court had acknowledged lower courts had seen the defense used in other cases.
Houghton County Prosecutor Dan Helmer said of Dixon’s case, “Until a state Supreme Court decision has been made on diminished capacity, the case remains in limbo.” He added, “If the diminished capacity defense does become usable under a new Supreme Court decision, I would likely need to change my own strategy in the case.”
Dixon was arrested in November 2023 after the fatal shooting of Theron Duncan at the Douglas House Saloon in downtown Houghton.
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