Opinion ID: 1847676
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the sentence of sixty years with the mississippi department of corrections constitutes a sentence of life in prison and is cruel unusual punishment.

Text: ¶ 8. Davis urges that, even if guilty as charged, she was subjected to a sentence which was so excessive given the nature and details of her crime, as to be cruel and inhuman and disproportionate when viewed against similar sentences given for like offenses. Her crime on October 3, 1996, the only one for which she was convicted and sentenced in this proceeding, was the sale of two rocks of crack cocaine, two-tenths of a gram (.0071 ounces), for forty dollars. For this she received the maximum sentence which she could receive under Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-139(b)(1) (1993), which was enhanced, indeed doubled, under Miss.Code Ann. § 41-29-142(1) because the sale took place a little over 700 feet from a church building. By the application of the maximum sentence allowed under both statutes, neither of which carry a mandatory sentence, Davis's penalty for the offense is sixty years in prison. This mother of a small child will not be eligible for parole before the year 2043, when she will be seventy-six years old, and therefore has received in essence a life sentence without parole. ¶ 9. It is unfortunate that we have little before us to explain this sentence. Davis chose not to offer evidence in her defense. While she acknowledged to the Judge that this was not her first time before him, we are not told how many prior offenses are in her history or the nature or punishment given for her earlier transgression or transgressions. It is also significant to note that whatever prior offenses existed, she was not tried as a repeat offender. [1] ¶ 10. At the time of sentencing, the trial court gave no explanation, and neither he nor we have the benefit of a pre-sentencing investigation. While the trial judge has, within the limits of the sentencing statutes, broad discretion as to the sentence given a particular offender, Hoops v. State, 681 So.2d 521, 537 (Miss.1996), and although the decision to call for a pre-sentencing investigation likewise lies within his discretion, URCCC 11.02; Hart v. State, 639 So.2d 1313, 1320 (Miss.1994), one cannot but be concerned about the severity of the sentence in this case in the absence of anything appearing in the record which reflects egregious circumstances. ¶ 11. We recognize it is properly within the purview of the Legislature to determine the range of sentences, enunciating our citizens' determination of the social impact of harmful behavior. We equally well recognize that our circuit judges, present throughout criminal trials and observing in detail the testimony and evidence, are uniquely suited to apply a range of sentences to specific offenses. Justice Robertson in his concurrence in Presley v. State, 474 So.2d 612, 620-21 (Miss. 1985) (Robertson, J., concurring), articulated these principles to which we still adhere. The Legislative judgment of recent years to provide serious penalties for the sale of cocaine is easy to understand when we observe the effect that its wide-spread distribution has had on Mississippi as well as the nation. Occasionally however, cases come before us in which sentences may be so severe as to appear on the record inexplicable and justify remanding the matter to the trial court for further consideration. [2] ¶ 12. In Presley, the defendant was convicted of armed robbery as a habitual offender and was sentenced to a term of forty years in prison without the possibility of parole. His crime was stealing some steaks and as he escaped displaying a knife. A pre-sentencing hearing was conducted but was found to be inadequate, even though we observed in Presley, as here, the deficiency was not the fault of the trial judge who gave the defendant an opportunity to be heard. There, reviewing the evidence and considering that there had been only an inadequate pre-sentencing hearing, we remanded the case for re-sentencing. ¶ 13. In McGilvery v. State, 497 So.2d 67 (Miss.1986), the defendant was given a severe sentence without explanation by the trial judge and he appealed, pointing out that his co-defendant, who pled guilty without trial, had received a much lighter punishment. Recognizing that the circuit judge may have had an excellent reason for McGilvery's sentence which had not been articulated, we remanded for further consideration of the sentence, emphasizing the absolute right of one accused of a crime to a jury trial and reminding the bench and bar that the sentence must not include a penalty for exercising that right. ¶ 14. Even as to those circumstances for which the statutes provide mandatory sentences, the punishment must be weighed against the prohibition imposed in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment. In Clowers v. State, 522 So.2d 762 (Miss. 1988), the defendant was convicted of uttering a forged $250 check, and although finding that he was an habitual offender, the trial court sentenced Clowers to a term of five years, in spite of the controlling statute which mandated a sentence of fifteen years without possibility of parole. In doing so, the trial judge found that the mandated sentence would be cruel and unusual under the facts. The State objected and cross-appealed, and we upheld the trial judge's sentence, relying in part on Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983), and its declaration that a criminal sentence must not be disproportionate to the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced. ¶ 15. In summary, under the facts of this case and given the lack of justification for the sentence on the face of the record on appeal, it is appropriate that the case be remanded for further consideration of the sentence imposed, consistent with those principles declared in Presley, McGilvery and Clowers and in the spirit of Solem. Davis has in her brief listed possibly comparable cases in which far lesser sentences were imposed both in Copiah and in adjoining Pike Counties. Upon remand, these cases will no doubt be considered by the trial court. Trial counsel in other cases should not read the decision of the Court in this case to provide security when no defense is offered and no effort is made to present matters justifying what they and their clients deem to be appropriate sentences, nor should this decision be read as imposing new restrictions on what remains very broad discretion in sentencing matters.