Opinion ID: 2071178
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Sixty-Five Year Sentence

Text: Garner argues that his sentence should be reduced because it is extreme and unreasonable. He further asserts that some of the aggravating circumstances found by the court were products of his mental illness and should not have been considered. The presumptive sentence for the crime of murder is fifty-five years, and it is within the discretion of the trial court to either add or subtract ten years for aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Ind.Code Ann. § 35-50-2-3(a) (West 1998); Morgan v. State, 675 N.E.2d 1067, 1073 (Ind.1996). In this case the trial court found the following aggravating circumstances: the risk Garner will commit another violent crime, Garner's history of delinquent activity, Garner's need of correctional or rehabilitative treatment that can best be provided in prison, Garner's danger to society, and the advanced age of the victim. The court found Garner's mental illness as a mitigating factor and concluded that the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors. Accordingly, it added ten years to the presumptive sentence with three years to be served on probation in an in-patient mental treatment facility. This Court has the authority to review and revise criminal sentences. Ind. Const. art. VII, § 4. We exercise that authority under the restraint of Indiana Appellate Rule 17, which declares that revision should occur only when the sentence is manifestly unreasonable in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. The trial court is not required to accept Garner's formulations of what constitutes mitigating circumstances. Ross v. State, 676 N.E.2d 339, 347 (Ind.1996). It is apparent from the record that the trial court considered Garner's mental illness. In light of the multiple aggravating factors, we conclude that it was not manifestly unreasonable to add ten years to the presumptive sentence.