Opinion ID: 433635
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Gravity of the Offense and the Harshness of the Penalty

Text: 37 In evaluating Seritt's claim that his penalty was too harsh for the offense of armed robbery, we believe it important to examine the operation of the Alabama Habitual Offenders Act, Ala.Code Sec. 13A-5-9 (1982). 2 38 In order to receive a mandatory life imprisonment sentence under the statute, Seritt had to satisfy two requirements. First, he must have had previous convictions for three felonies, and second, a conviction of a Class A felony (armed robbery). The evidence reveals that Seritt satisfied each of the two prerequisites for a mandatory life imprisonment sentence. See Ala.Code Sec. 13A-5-9(c)(3). 39 One in Seritt's position has been clearly informed of the consequences of lawlessness, has suffered three felony convictions, and has been given an opportunity to reform, all to no avail. Thus, section 13A-5-9 of the Alabama Code is nothing more than a legislative pronouncement which mandates that when a person has committed three felonies and commits yet another felony, he should receive the penalty of incarceration for life without parole. 40 Under Alabama law, felonies are categorized as Class A, Class B, or Class C with the following permissible prison sentences: Class A felony--10 to 99 years or life; Class B felony--2 to 20 years; Class C felony--1 year, 1 day to 10 years. Ala.Code Sec. 13A-5-6 (1982). 41 Class A felonies are as follows: murder, 3 first-degree kidnapping, 4 first-degree rape, 5 first-degree sodomy, 6 first-degree burglary, 7 first-degree arson, 8 first-degree robbery, 9 and treason. 10 Except for treason, it is apparent that Alabama has reserved as Class A felony classification only the most serious of offenses and those involving the risk that a human life will be taken. No other crime committed by a habitual offender is punished as severely. Furthermore, section 13A-5-9(c)(3) guarantees that no criminal will receive the sentence of life imprisonment without parole, as a habitual offender, unless he has been convicted of three prior felonies and then commits a life-endangering offense. 42 Thus, unlike the South Dakota sentence invalidated in Solem v. Helm, Alabama has provided that only the most serious habitual offenders can receive the life without parole sentence. We, therefore, hold that the sentence of life imprisonment without parole is not unduly harsh for Seritt, a four-time convicted felon, who subsequently committed the violent, life-threatening, Class A felony of armed robbery. Based on the facts before us, we hold that section 13A-5-9 satisfies the first objective criteria articulated by the Supreme Court in Solem. 43