Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 750 / Act 328 of 1931
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85 (2026)

Torture; felony; penalty; definitions; element of crime; other laws.

✓ current as of July 2026
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THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE


Act 328 of 1931


750.85 Torture; felony; penalty; definitions; element of crime; other laws.

Sec. 85.

    (1) A person who, with the intent to cause cruel or extreme physical or mental pain and suffering, inflicts great bodily injury or severe mental pain or suffering upon another person within his or her custody or physical control commits torture and is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years.

    (2) As used in this section:

    (a) "Cruel" means brutal, inhuman, sadistic, or that which torments.

    (b) "Custody or physical control" means the forcible restriction of a person's movements or forcible confinement of the person so as to interfere with that person's liberty, without that person's consent or without lawful authority.

    (c) "Great bodily injury" means either of the following:

    (i) Serious impairment of a body function as that term is defined in section 58c of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.58c.

    (ii) One or more of the following conditions: internal injury, poisoning, serious burns or scalding, severe cuts, or multiple puncture wounds.

    (d) "Severe mental pain or suffering" means a mental injury that results in a substantial alteration of mental functioning that is manifested in a visibly demonstrable manner caused by or resulting from any of the following:

    (i) The intentional infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily injury.

    (ii) The administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt the senses or the personality.

    (iii) The threat of imminent death.

    (iv) The threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, great bodily injury, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt the senses or personality.

    (3) Proof that a victim suffered pain is not an element of the crime under this section.

    (4) A conviction or sentence under this section does not preclude a conviction or sentence for a violation of any other law of this state arising from the same transaction.

History: Add. 2005, Act 335, Eff. Mar. 1, 2006

Compiler's Notes:

    Former MCL 750.85, which pertained to assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy, or gross indecency, was repealed by Act 266 of 1974, Eff. Apr. 1, 1975.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 237 cases (52 in the last 5 years), 1955–2026 · leading case: People v. Schaw, 791 N.W.2d 743 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010).
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People v. Schaw, 791 N.W.2d 743 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 5× “84; torture, MCL 750.85; and unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.”
People v. Cain, 869 N.W.2d 829 (Mich. 2015). · cites it 3× “224f. At the start of the trial, the court, Vonda R.”
People v. Skinner, 917 N.W.2d 292 (Mich. 2018). “145n ], torture under [ MCL 750.85 ], aggravated stalking under [ MCL 750.”
People v. Cooper, 867 N.W.2d 452 (Mich. Ct. App. 2015). “83, and torture, MCL 750.85. Defendant was sentenced to 320 to 640 months’ imprisonment for first-degree home invasion, life in prison for assault with intent to commit murder, and 900 to 1,800 months’ imprisonment for torture.”
People v. Helzer, 273 N.W.2d 44 (Mich. 1978). · cites it 4× “788, the assault with intent to commit rape statute, MCL 750.85; MSA 28.280, the incest statute, MCL 750.”
People of Michigan v. Lonnie James Arnold, 918 N.W.2d 164 (Mich. 2018). “72(3) (stating that first-degree arson is a felony "punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years"); MCL 750.85(1) (same for torture); MCL 750.”
People v. Bouchee, 253 N.W.2d 626 (Mich. 1977). · cites it 2× “NOTES [1] MCLA 750.85; MSA 28.280. [2] 62 Mich App 132 ; 233 NW2d 503 (1975).”
People v. Worrell, 340 N.W.2d 612 (Mich. 1983). · cites it 4× “In affirming the conviction, the Court of Appeals relied on a long line of cases holding that force was not a necessary element of assault with intent to rape when the female is under the statutory age of consent.”
People v. Jones, 254 N.W.2d 863 (Mich. Ct. App. 1977). · cites it 2× “277, assault with intent to commit gross indecency, MCLA 750.85; MSA 28.280, and extortion, MCLA 750.”
People v. Howell, 238 N.W.2d 148 (Mich. 1976). “1 MCLA 750.85; MSA 28.280. 2 MCLA 750.338; MSA 28.”
Jennifer Galvan v. Anthony Stewart, 705 F. App'x 392 (6th Cir. 2017). · cites it 2× “1 Both Petitioner and Joe appealed, challenging, among other things, the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining their convictions.”
People v. Hubbard, 172 N.W.2d 831 (Mich. Ct. App. 1970). · cites it 4× “[3] MCLA § 750.85 (Stat Ann 1962 Rev § 28.280).”
Show all 237 citing cases →
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(1) — 42 cases
People v. Schaw, 791 N.W.2d 743 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010). “84; torture, MCL 750.85; and unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.”
People of Michigan v. Lonnie James Arnold, 918 N.W.2d 164 (Mich. 2018). “72(3) (stating that first-degree arson is a felony "punishable by imprisonment for life or any term of years"); MCL 750.85(1) (same for torture); MCL 750.”
People v. Anderson, 765 N.W.2d 341 (Mich. 2009).
People of Michigan v. Victoria Joan Foster (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Victoria Joan Foster (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(a) — 14 cases
People of Michigan v. Ronald Kareem Seabrooks (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
People of Michigan v. Manuel Francisco Gamez (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
People of Michigan v. Adam Donald Lutz (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
People of Michigan v. Darnell Henry Cheatham (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
People of Michigan v. Lawrence Smith Vanburen (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(b) — 11 cases
People v. Anderson, 765 N.W.2d 341 (Mich. 2009).
People of Michigan v. Brian Keith Degroot (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
People of Michigan v. Victoria Joan Foster (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Victoria Joan Foster (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Clarence Reed Jenkins Jr (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(c) — 6 cases
People of Michigan v. Hilery Noel Maison (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Hilery Noel Maison (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Radu Vasile Muntean (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
People of Michigan v. Tyrione Isaiah Henriques (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).
People of Michigan v. Russell Joseph Germano (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(c)(i) — 3 cases
People of Michigan v. Emmanuel Leroy Brown (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Emmanuel Leroy Brown (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Gwendolyn Josephine Alexander (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(c)(ii) — 6 cases
People of Michigan v. Tyrione Isaiah Henriques (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).
People of Michigan v. Charlisa Charay Wood (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
People of Michigan v. Emmanuel Leroy Brown (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Emmanuel Leroy Brown (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Brian Keith Degroot (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(d) — 7 cases
People v. Schaw, 791 N.W.2d 743 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010). “84; torture, MCL 750.85; and unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.”
People of Michigan v. Branden Daniel Klyk (Mich. Ct. App. 2025).
People of Michigan v. Clarence Reed Jenkins Jr (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).
People of Michigan v. Lester T Jennings-Bush (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).
People of Michigan v. Russell Joseph Germano (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(d)(i) — 5 cases
People v. Schaw, 791 N.W.2d 743 (Mich. Ct. App. 2010). “84; torture, MCL 750.85; and unlawful imprisonment, MCL 750.”
People of Michigan v. Matilda Jane Brown Gardner (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).
People of Michigan v. Russell Joseph Germano (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
People of Michigan v. Cody Christopher Smith (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
People of Michigan v. Ronald Kareem Seabrooks (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(d)(ii) — 1 case
People of Michigan v. Tyrione Isaiah Henriques (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(2)(d)(iii) — 6 cases
People of Michigan v. Ronald Kareem Seabrooks (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
People Of Mi V Cora Ladane Lymon (Mich. Ct. App. 2022).
People of Michigan v. Branden Daniel Klyk (Mich. Ct. App. 2025).
People of Michigan v. Russell Joseph Germano (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
People of Michigan v. Cody Christopher Smith (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(3) — 4 cases
People of Michigan v. Cody Cory-Lea Connolly (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Cody Cory-Lea Connolly (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
People of Michigan v. Ronald Kareem Seabrooks (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
People of Michigan v. Jason David Sadowski (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(4) — 1 case
People of Michigan v. Brian Keith Degroot (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.85(c)(ii) — 1 case
People of Michigan v. Brian Keith Degroot (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
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