Opinion ID: 867512
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Proportionality Review of Davis's Sentence.

Text: ¶ 35 Against this background, we analyze the sentence imposed on Davis. We must first determine whether an inference of gross disproportionality between Davis's offenses and his sentence can be drawn.
¶ 36 Davis was sentenced to serve fifty-two years in prison for having non-coerced sex with two post-pubescent teenage girls. This strikes the courtas it did the jurors, the trial judge, the pre-sentence report writer, and the girls' mothersas an extraordinarily long sentence. Many of the factors deemed important in determining that Bartlett's sentence was disproportionate to his crimes are also present here: (1) Davis's sexual relations with the girls involved neither actual nor threatened violence; in each instance the girls knew what they were doing and willingly participated. Indeed, the victims sought Davis out; all acts occurred after the victims went voluntarily to Davis's home. (2) Davis does not have an adult criminal record, nor has he committed any previous crimes against children. (3) Post-pubescent sexual conduct appears to be no less common today than it was in 1990. [5] (4) There is evidence in the record that Davis's intelligence and maturity level fell far below that of a normal young adult. (5) Like Bartlett, Davis was caught in the very broad sweep of the governing statute, which makes any sexual conduct with a person younger than fifteen years old by a person older than eighteen years old a dangerous crime against children, whether the offense is a rape-incest by a step-parent who forces sex on a trusting ward or a pedophile who uncontrollably preys upon young children, see State v. Taylor, 160 Ariz. 415, 773 P.2d 974 (1989), or the more benign boyfriend-girlfriend situation in which one party is older than eighteen and the other younger than fifteen. ¶ 37 We recognize society's strong interest in protecting children and understand and appreciate that it is the legislature's province to assess the appropriate punishment for crimes against children. But we cannot say that all incidents of sexual conduct are of equal seriousness and pose the same threat to their victims or to society. The broad range of offenses encompassed by the statute under which Davis was charged, coupled with the legislature's command in A.R.S. § 13-4037(B) and the Supreme Court's Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, impose on us the duty to apply the law to the specific facts of the cases that come before us to determine the constitutionality of sentences imposed. After conducting that review, we conclude that Davis's conduct was swept up in the broad statutory terms, which, in turn, triggered the mandatory sentences imposed. The trial judge, the jury, the pre-sentence report writer, and even the victims' mothers all recognized the injustice of sentencing Davis to a fifty-two-year prison sentence with no possibility of early release for the crimes at issue in this case. We cannot ignore that injustice. While recognizing that many sex crimes against children may well justify such a sentence, others do not. We conclude that given the circumstances of Davis's offenses, the sentence imposed in this case appears to be grossly disproportionate to his crimes.
¶ 38 Once an inference of gross disproportionality has been found, the Supreme Court suggests that a reviewing court validate that impression by conducting an intra-and inter-jurisdictional analysis. [6] Harmelin, 501 U.S. at 1005, 111 S.Ct. at 2707 (Kennedy, J., concurring); Solem, 463 U.S. at 291-92, 103 S.Ct. at 3010. In the intra-jurisdictional analysis, we compare the sentences imposed in Arizona for crimes more serious than those committed by Davis to see whether those sentences validate our tentative conclusion of gross disproportionality. See Bartlett I, 164 Ariz. at 242, 792 P.2d at 705. ¶ 39 Little has changed since this court conducted a similar analysis in 1990 in Bartlett I. Id. at 236-37, 792 P.2d at 699-700. It continues to be the case that those guilty of more serious crimes, such as second degree murder, sexual assault, or continued sexual abuse of a minor under fifteen years of age receive the same presumptive sentence that Davis did. See A.R.S. § 13-604.01(C). It also remains true that dangerous crimes against children such as kidnapping, child abuse, aggravated assault, or commercial sexual exploitation of a child, all seemingly more dangerous crimes than Davis's, carry a lesser presumptive sentence and, with mitigation, those who commit such crimes are eligible for a ten-year minimum sentence for each count, less than the thirteen-year minimum sentence for each count for Davis's crime. A.R.S. § 13-604.01(D). ¶ 40 Additionally, other serious felony offenses not involving children receive significantly less severe sentences in Arizona. Those guilty of kidnapping a person older than fifteen, A.R.S. § 13-1304 (2001), sexual assault of a victim older than fifteen, A.R.S. § 13-1406 (2001), first degree burglary of a residential structure, A.R.S. § 13-1508 (2001), and arson of an occupied structure, A.R.S. § 13-1704 (2001), are all eligible for more lenient sentences, and the sentencing judge may order that multiple sentences be served concurrently. See A.R.S. § 13-708 (2001). ¶ 41 In response, the State cites five decisions affirming extremely harsh sentences imposed against those convicted of sex crimes against children. Taylor, 160 Ariz. at 422, 773 P.2d at 981 (eighty-five consecutive life sentences for a total of 2975 years for sexual exploitation and sexual conduct with minors); State v. Jones, 188 Ariz. 534, 937 P.2d 1182 (App.1996) (six consecutive twenty-five-year sentences for sexual assault); State v. Hamilton, 177 Ariz. 403, 868 P.2d 986 (App.1993) (three consecutive twenty-year sentences for child molestation); State v. Ross, 166 Ariz. 579, 804 P.2d 112 (App.1990) (twenty-five-year sentence for one count of sexual assault); State v. Crego, 154 Ariz. 278, 742 P.2d 289 (App.1987) (forty-year sentence for child molestation). The State argues that these cases show that Davis's sentences are not grossly disproportionate given the way other similar crimes have been punished in Arizona. ¶ 42 But even a cursory review of these five cases reveals enormous differences in the nature of the crimes, the harm to the victims and to society, and the culpability of the defendants. In Jones, the victim was the defendant's daughter, whom he raped and molested, coerced by threats of violence, for nearly ten years, from the time the child was five years old until she turned fourteen. Jones, 188 Ariz. at 537, 539, 937 P.2d at 1185, 1187. The five known victims who were the subjects of the eighty-five counts on which Taylor was convicted ranged from three to eight years old, and many unknown victims were never located. Taylor, 160 Ariz. at 417, 423, 773 P.2d at 976, 982. [7] The defendant, who had three prior felonies involving sexual conduct with minors, had a large collection of photographs of the young victims engaged in various sex acts with each other and with him. Id. at 417, 422, 773 P.2d at 976, 981. In Hamilton, the victims were the defendant's girlfriend's twelve- and nine-year-old daughters, who had been subjected to years of sexual abuse and threats of violence when left in the defendant's care. Hamilton, 177 Ariz. at 405, 868 P.2d at 988. In Ross, the defendant and two other males abducted a fourteen-year-old girl whom they sexually assaulted. Ross, 166 Ariz. at 582, 804 P.2d at 115. Finally, the defendant in Crego was convicted of molesting two children under the age of fifteen only months after being released from prison for similar conduct. Crego, 154 Ariz. at 279-80, 742 P.2d at 290-91. ¶ 43 Thus, the facts of these cases stand in stark contrast to the facts of the case before us, in which the post-pubescent victims sought Davis out and willingly participated in the criminal acts. [8] Indeed, we draw two conclusions from the cases the State cites. First, Davis's fifty-two-year sentence is grossly disproportionate to his crimes when compared with the sentences imposed for the crimes described in the five cases cited by the State. Second, these cases vividly demonstrate why, when considering the proportionality of a sentence imposed, this court must look beyond the nomenclature of the crime charged and consider the facts of each particular case.
¶ 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.
¶ 47 Although this court normally will not consider the imposition of consecutive sentences in a proportionality inquiry, this case cries out for departure from that general rule. See Bartlett I, 164 Ariz. at 239 n. 6, 792 P.2d at 702 n. 6. It is in part because judges in Arizona have no discretion regarding the minimum sentence and must impose consecutive sentences that this sentence fails the proportionality test. [10] See A.R.S. §§ 13-604.01(C) (requiring minimum sentence), 13-604.01(K) (requiring that sentences be served consecutively). Therefore, to ignore the requirement that the sentences be served consecutively would be to ignore one of the causes of the disproportionality. We recognize the legislature's right to impose a thirteen-year minimum sentence for dangerous crimes against children and to require that the sentences be served completely. We also recognize the legislature's right to require consecutive sentences for this type of offense. We cannot, however, uphold a sentence that becomes unconstitutionally disproportionate to the crimes committed because the sentences are mandatorily lengthy, flat, and consecutive. ¶ 48 Accordingly, while we recognize that Davis committed crimes worthy of severe punishment, we nonetheless find that the application of the mandatory sentencing provisions of the Dangerous Crimes Against Children Act creates an unconstitutionally disproportionate punishment in light of the specific facts and circumstances of Davis's offenses. We therefore vacate the sentences and remand this case to the trial court for resentencing for the offenses for which the convictions are affirmed as class two felonies, non-dangerous, pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 13-702, 13-702.01 and 13-702.02. ¶ 49 Let us be clear that we do not find Davis's sentence disproportionate simply because it seems too long. Nor are we merely substituting our judgment for the legislature's considered determination of the appropriate punishment for illegal sexual conduct with a minor. Sex forced on a minor by an adult may be a dangerous crime and the legislature may punish it as such. But we recognize that the Supreme Court has construed the Eighth Amendment to impose on a reviewing court the duty to examine a sentence claimed to be cruel and unusual in light of the specific facts and circumstances under which it is imposed. Having done so in this case, we abide by this court's determination that when a punishment is so severe as to shock the conscience of society, it violates the constitutional mandate. State v. Davis (Randal), 108 Ariz. 335, 337, 498 P.2d 202, 204 (1972). That Davis's fifty-two-year sentence shocks the societal conscience is apparent from the reactions of the trial judge, the jurors, and the victims' mothers. Accordingly, our conclusion that Davis's sentence violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against grossly disproportionate punishments is limited to the specific facts and circumstances in the record before us and is based on our determination that it is so disproportionate to the offenses that it shocks the moral sense of the court and community.