Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. George TOMPKINS
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1982-10-18
Citations: 429 So. 2d 1385
Docket Number: No. 82-KA-0061
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. George TOMPKINS.
Judges: DIXON, C.J., respectfully dissents on this record the sentence is excessive.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 429
Pages: 1385–1390

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. George TOMPKINS.
No. 82-KA-0061.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Oct. 18, 1982.
On Rehearing April 4, 1983.
Rehearing Denied May 13, 1983.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., J. Eddie Knoll, Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
Donald R. Wilson, Gaharan & Wilson, Jena, for defendant-appellant.

Opinion:
DAVID R.M. WILLIAMS, Justice Pro Tem.
Defendant George Tompkins was indicted by a grand jury for manslaughter in violation of La.R.S. 14:31. After trial by jury, defendant was found guilty as charged and was sentenced to serve fifteen years at hard labor. Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence to this court. We affirmed his conviction, but remanded the case to the trial court for resentencing because the trial court had not sufficiently articulated its reasons for imposing the fifteen-year sentence. State v. Tompkins, 403 So.2d 644 (La.1981). On remand, the trial court again sentenced defendant to serve fifteen years at hard labor. Defendant has appealed this sentence, urging that it is unconstitutionally excessive.
The following facts were adduced from the Pre-Sentence Investigation Report and testimony presented at the sentencing hearing. Defendant operated a lounge. Two patrons, Keller and Turner, began to fight. They stepped outside, but Turner returned to the lounge to get a pool cue; he claimed that Keller had a knife. Defendant went outside to confront Keller, taking a pistol with him. Witnesses to the incident testified that defendant told Keller three times to drop the knife and when Keller did not do so, he shot him. Defendant claimed that .his gun accidentally discharged.
The defense argues that in light of the circumstances of the crime and defendant's personal background, a sentence of fifteen years at hard labor is clearly excessive. The maximum sentence which the court could have imposed is twenty-one years at hard labor. La.R.S. 14:31.
Defendant is forty-one years old. He has been married for eighteen years and has four children. One of his children has a birth defect and requires surgery. Defendant's retarded brother and five-year old niece also live with the family. He has no previous criminal record other than traffic violations. At the pre-sentencing hearing, the defendant and his wife testified to his personal and financial history and their present situation. The minister of the church of which defendant is a member and his present and previous employers all testified on his behalf.
At the sentencing hearing, the trial judge stated that he realized that prison was likely to cause a hardship on defendant and his family. He noted that although the victim had a knife, it was not raised and that defendant's action caused serious harm and that defendant must have contemplated that it would do so. The trial court reiterated the victim's last words: "You didn't have to shoot me, George L.; I'm sorry." The judge stated that there was no way for defendant to compensate the victim and that defendant was in need of custodial treatment. The court further stated that an incident such as the one for which defendant was convicted might occur again and any other sentence would deprecate the seriousness of the offense.
Excessive punishment is prohibited by Article 1, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. A sentence that is within the statutory limits may nevertheless be unconstitutionally excessive. State v. Sepulvado, 367 So.2d 762 (La.1979). A sentence is excessive if it is nothing more than purposeless or needless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Prados, 404 So.2d 925 (La.1981); State v. Gulden, 399 So.2d 194 (La.1981).
Article 894.1 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure requires that the trial judge fully articulate his reasons for imposing sentence. This enables us to competently review a sentence complained of as excessive. State v. Prados, supra; State v. Spencer, 374 So.2d 1195 (La.1979).
Because the record clearly shows the factual basis and individual considerations upon which the fifteen-year sentence was based, our review is limited to whether the trial court's discretion has been abused. State v. Cox, 369 So.2d 118 (La.1979). The trial judge has wide discretion in imposing sentences within the statutory limits and absent a manifest abuse of this discretion, the sentence imposed by the trial court should not be set aside on the ground of excessiveness. State v. Douglas, 389 So.2d 1263 (La.1980); State v. Jones, 381 So.2d 416 (La.1980); State v. Spencer, supra.
After reviewing the facts presented by the present case, we find no abuse of the trial court's discretion. Although the sentence is severe, it is not unconstitutionally excessive. As we stated in our earlier decision in this case: "[tjaking a human life without justification, even if provoked, is a very serious matter." State v. Tompkins, 403 So.2d at 650. Considering the circumstances of this case and the nature of the crime we find that the trial court did not impose an unconstitutional sentence.
For the foregoing reasons, the sentence imposed upon defendant is affirmed.
DIXON, C.J., respectfully dissents on this record the sentence is excessive.
Judges David R.M. Williams, Charles R. Ward and William H. Byrnes, III of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, participated in this opinion as Associate Justices Pro Tempore with Chief Justice Dixon and Associate Justices Marcus, Blanche and Lemmon.