Opinion ID: 852917
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Sufficiency of the Sentencing Order

Text: For his last allegation of error Washington complains that the trial court's sentencing order is not sufficient to support a sentence of life without parole. Specifically Washington contends the sentencing order is deficient in two respects: (i) it fails to set forth specific facts and reasons which lead the court to find the existence of both aggravating circumstances; and (ii) it fails to set forth the court's personal conclusion that a sentence of life without parole is appropriate for this offender and this crime. A sentence of life without parole is imposed under the same standards and is subject to the same requirements as a death sentence. Holsinger v. State, 750 N.E.2d 354, 362 (Ind.2001); Pope v. State, 737 N.E.2d 374, 382 (Ind.2000). Because a sentence of life in prison without parole is imposed under the same standards as the death penalty, we require the same specificity from a trial court sentencing a defendant to life in prison without parole as we would a court sentencing a person to death. Brown v. State, 783 N.E.2d 1121, 1127 (Ind.2003). The capital sentencing scheme in effect at the time of Washington's trial made clear that the sentencing court had a separate and independent role in assessing and weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and in making the final determination whether to impose a particular sentence. Id. at 1128. [5] Accordingly, we have said: The trial court's statement of reasons (i) must identify each mitigating and aggravating circumstance found, (ii) must include the specific facts and reasons which lead the court to find the existence of each such circumstance, (iii) must articulate that the mitigating and aggravating circumstances have been evaluated and balanced in determination of the sentence, and (iv) must set forth the trial court's personal conclusion that the sentence is appropriate punishment for this offender and this crime. Harrison v. State, 644 N.E.2d 1243, 1262 (Ind.1995) (citations omitted). We disagree with Washington's contention that the sentencing order failed to set forth the trial court's personal conclusion that the sentence is appropriate punishment for this offender and this crime. Although not using the precise language articulated in Harrison, the sentencing order provides: The Court, giving due consideration to the evidence in this case, the evidence and arguments presented at the sentencing hearing, the Presentence Investigation Report, and the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, finds that a sentence of life imprisonment without parole should be imposed. Appellant's App. at 644. This is sufficient. However, we do agree the sentencing order fails to set forth specific facts and reasons that lead the court to find the existence of the aggravating circumstances. On this point the trial court's sentencing order provides: Jeffrey Dean Washington did commit the murder of Sandy Bass by lying in wait, and Jeffrey Dean Washington did commit the murder of Sandy Bass at a time when said Jeffrey Dean Washington was on probation after receiving a sentence for the commission of a felony, to wit: serving probation after a conviction for Stalking, a felony offense, entered in the Posey Circuit Court on January 15, 1997, in Cause Number 65C01-9610-CF-00069. Id. at 641. We observe that the sentencing order merely recites verbatim the language of the jury's verdict form. There is no indication that the trial court engaged in a separate and independent assessment of why it concluded that the State proved the existence of the aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The sentencing order is thus deficient. When faced with an irregularity in a trial court's decision to impose the death sentence or to impose a sentence of life without parole, this Court has various options: (1) remand to the trial court for clarification or a new sentencing determination; (2) affirm the sentence if the error is harmless; or (3) independently reweigh the proper aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Brown, 783 N.E.2d at 1129; Bivins v. State, 642 N.E.2d 928, 957 (Ind. 1994). In this case, we affirm Washington's life sentence without parole on grounds of harmless error. We do so for the following reasons. The trial court found no mitigating circumstances warranting consideration. See Bivins, 642 N.E.2d at 957 (finding harmless error in a death penalty case where trial court's sentencing order was deficient and declaring significant that the trial judge found no mitigating factors). Washington does not contend the trial court erred in this regard. And, although not setting forth its specific facts and reasons for so doing, the trial court did expressly find that the charged aggravators were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Under section IV of this opinion we have already determined there was sufficient evidence of probative value from which a jury could find the existence of the lying in wait statutory aggravator. As for the commission of a murder while on probation, the evidence in the record supports the trial court's conclusion that this aggravator was proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and Washington does not contend otherwise. The trial court also expressly found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating circumstances. Examining the evidence before the trial court, the jury's recommendation in favor of life imprisonment without parole, and the trial court's sentencing order, we are convinced that the trial court would have sentenced Washington to life imprisonment without parole despite the fact that the trial court failed to set forth specific facts as to why it concluded that the State proved the existence of the aggravating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus although the trial court erred in failing to set forth specific facts and reasons to support its conclusion, the error was harmless.