Opinion ID: 1060630
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: especially mitigated offender

Text: Blackstock contends that the trial court erred in failing to impose a sentence as an especially mitigated offender. A court has the discretion to sentence a defendant as an especially mitigated offender if (1) he has no prior felony convictions and (2) the court finds mitigating but no enhancing factors in the record. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-109(a)(1)-(2) (1997). If a court finds a defendant to be an especially mitigated offender, the court shall reduce the Range I minimum sentence by ten percent, reduce the release eligibility by twenty percent, or both. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-109(b). The trial court found that Blackstock had no prior felony convictions and that several mitigating factors were present, i.e., Blackstock's mental condition reduced his culpability and made it unlikely that he had a sustained intent to violate the law. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-113(8), (11) (1997). The trial court denied especially mitigated sentencing, however, on the basis that an enhancement factorthat the victim was particularly vulnerable because of age or physical or mental limitationswas present in the record. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-114(4) (1997). The trial court instead sentenced Blackstock as a Range I, standard offender to the minimum of eight years in the Department of Correction. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-112(a)(2) (1997). The Court of Criminal Appeals correctly held that the trial court erred in finding the particular vulnerability enhancement factor because vulnerability cannot be presumed solely from the age of the victim and because there was no evidence that the victim was unable to resist, summon help, or testify at a later date. See State v. Adams, 864 S.W.2d 31, 35 (Tenn.1993). The Court of Criminal Appeals nonetheless upheld the sentence after finding in the course of its de novo review that another enhancement factorthat the defendant abused a position of private trustwas established by the evidence. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-114(15). We disagree.