Opinion ID: 2451884
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intrajurisdictional Comparison.

Text: In comparing the sentence imposed on Billy Joe Harris with other Tennessee penalty provisions, a convenient starting point is examination of the punishment provided for commission of the very same offense, but under slightly different circumstances. If, for example, Harris's victim had been 13 years old rather than eight, the defendant's conduct would have constituted sexual battery, which carried a minimum sentence under then T.C.A. § 39-2-607(a) of as little as one day, since the penalty specified for that offense was not more than five (5) years in the penitentiary. Had he used force against this hypothetical 13-year-old victim, or had he been armed with a weapon at the time of the offense or caused her personal injury, his mandatory minimum sentence would have been only five years imprisonment as a first offender. See then T.C.A. § 39-2-606(b). Indeed, if the eight-year-old had resisted his fondling, thus provoking him to the point of violence, and he had killed the child, he would have been subject to a minimum sentence of only 10 years for second-degree murder, exactly half the minimum penalty to which he was exposed for mere fondling. See T.C.A. § 39-2-212 (1982). As the defendant points out in his brief, under Tennessee law there were only five offenses that carried a stiffer mandatory minimum sentence than fondling a young child at the time of his conviction in this case: first-degree murder (life or death sentence, under T.C.A. § 39-2-202); inmate rebellion with intent to kill or escape (life sentence, T.C.A. § 39-5-712); causing a death by obstructing a train (life sentence, T.C.A. § 39-6-204); aggravated rape of a child under 13 (40 years to life, T.C.A. § 39-2-603(b)); and burglary by use of explosives (25 to 40 years, T.C.A. § 39-3-702). In addition, there were only three offenses with a mandatory minimum sentence equal to the 20-year sentence that Harris received: aggravated kidnapping (20 years to life, T.C.A. § 39-2-301); aggravated rape (20 years to life, T.C.A. § 39-2-603(b)); and bank robbery (20 to 40 years, T.C.A. § 39-2-501). All eight of these felonies involve either serious bodily injury or loss of life, or the greatly enhanced risk thereof. Moreover, under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, the most serious class of offenses, Class A felonies, are punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. Limited in number, they include attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, second degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated rape, aggravated arson, and the sale or possession of large quantities of controlled substances. See T.C.A. §§ 40-35-110, Sentencing Commission Comments, and 40-35-111(b)(1). As noted above, the new criminal code makes the offense for which Harris was convicted a Class B felony; for a first offender, the sentencing range is eight to 12 years imprisonment. As defense counsel phrases it, the sentence imposed on Billy Joe Harris is out of place in the sentencing matrix, at least under the facts of this case, if not generally. Although there is no question that the legislature may validly enact a statute that penalizes a defendant more severely for victimizing a small child, or one that provides a harsh sentence in order to deter sexual abuse of children, the sentence cannot be so excessive in relation to the offense that it is unduly oppressive or unjust. In relation to Tennessee's overall penological scheme, the sentence imposed for the fondling incident in this case appears to be not only disproportionate, but grossly disproportionate, and thus unconstitutional.