Opinion ID: 867512
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Inter-jurisdictional Comparison.

Text: ¶ 44 The inter-jurisdictional analysis requires comparison of punishments imposed for the same crime in other states. Bartlett II, 171 Ariz. at 310, 830 P.2d at 831. This court conducted such a comparison in Bartlett I. 164 Ariz. at 237-41 & nn. 4-5, 792 P.2d at 700-04 & nn. 4-5. What was true in 1990 when we decided Bartlett I remains true today; the sentence Davis received is much more severe than the minimum possible sentence a defendant could receive in any other state. [9] See supra ¶ 19. ¶ 45 The minimum sentence in Arizona for an offender who has no criminal history, but has been convicted of the offenses at issue here, is four thirteen-year sentences, which must run consecutively and for which there is no possibility of parole, for a total of fifty-two years. See A.R.S. § 13-604.01. In no other state would a defendant in similar circumstances face a minimum possible sentence exceeding twenty years, and in the few states in which a twenty-year sentence is possible, the sentencing judge has the discretion to reduce the sentence. E.g., R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-37-8.1 to -8.2 (2002). In nearly all states, a defendant guilty of similar crimes could receive concurrent sentences totaling fewer than five years' imprisonment. E.g., Cal.Penal Code §§ 261.5, 288(a) (West 1999), 1170 (West 1985 & Supp.2003), 1203 (West 1982 & Supp.2003), 3000 (West 2000 & Supp.2003) (setting the minimum sentence that could be imposed for Davis's offenses at three years, with the possibility of and eligibility for probation and parole); N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 30-9-11(F) (Michie 1997 & Supp.2002), 31-18-15(A)(6), 31-18-15.1, 31-20-3, 31-20-5, 31-21-10 (Michie 2001) (providing for a sentence of eighteen months, probation- and parole-eligible). ¶ 46 In this case, the trial judge and the members of the jury thought Davis's sentence was clearly excessive. The pre-sentence report recommended a sentence in the range of five years, a proposal with which the victims' mothers agreed. Even the prosecutor recommended that Davis be eligible to immediately apply for clemency. But the trial judge was statutorily bound to impose a flat fifty-two-year sentence. In no other state would a sentencing judge be required to impose such a severe sentence. Davis's sentence, therefore, fails the third prong of the gross disproportionality test.