Opinion ID: 513484
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Legality of Kinslow's Sentence

Text: 32 The district court sentenced Kinslow to two consecutive life sentences on the kidnapping convictions and ordered, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4205(b)(1), that Kinslow not become eligible for parole until he served a minimum term of 25 years. Kinslow contends that the district court exceeded its sentencing authority by requiring that he serve 25 years before he could be eligible for parole. 33 Parole eligibility is governed by 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4205. Section 4205(a) provides that a federal prisoner sentenced to a term of more than one year is eligible for release on parole after serving either one-third of the prescribed sentence or ten years if the sentence is for a term over 30 years or for life, except to the extent that the law provides otherwise. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4205(a). The next subsection of this statute provides that the sentencing court may impose a minimum term for parole eligibility, if the ends of justice and the best interests of the public require. Although the minimum term set by the court may be less than the mandatory date established in Sec. 4205(a), it must not be more than one-third of the maximum sentence imposed by the court. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4205(b)(1). 34 One possible interpretation of Sec. 4205(b)(1) is that it only authorizes a sentencing court to establish a parole eligibility date earlier than the mandatory dates specified in Sec. 4205(a). In United States v. Gwaltney, 790 F.2d 1378 (9th Cir.1986), however, we held that the district court did not exceed its authority under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4205(b)(1) by providing that a defendant had to serve 30 years of his 90 year sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Id. at 1388-89. Thus, in this circuit, Sec. 4205(a) does not place a ten year ceiling on the sentencing court's authority to set a minimum term under Sec. 4205(b)(1). The judge may set minimum terms that are longer than the mandatory date so long as the minimum term does not exceed one-third of the maximum sentence imposed by the court. See id. Compare United States v. Castonguay, 843 F.2d 51, 56 (1st Cir.1988) (district court has no authority under Sec. 4205(b)(1) to provide that defendant must serve 25 years of his 75 year sentence before becoming eligible for parole; rather, defendant must be eligible in ten years) with Rothgeb v. United States, 789 F.2d 647, 652 (8th Cir.1986) (Sec. 4205(b)(1) permits the district court to require that a defendant sentenced to a term of over 30 years in prison serve longer than ten years before he is eligible for parole). 35 The issue before us now is whether a minimum parole term in excess of ten years may be imposed under Sec. 4205(b)(1) when the defendant is given a life sentence instead of a term of years. Section Sec. 4205(b)(1) limits the district court's discretion to impose a minimum parole eligibility term by requiring that the minimum term set must not exceed one-third of the maximum sentence imposed. Section 4205(b) offers no guidance on how to calculate one-third of a life sentence. The proviso that the ends of justice and best interests of the public be served refers to the district court's initial decision to set a minimum term, not to the length of the term itself. In section 4205(a), however, Congress made it clear that it considered one-third of a life sentence to be ten years. To hold otherwise may grant the district court the unchecked freedom to select any minimum parole term for a defendant sentenced to life. Accord Rothgeb, 789 F.2d at 652. 36 We hold, therefore, that under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4205, a person sentenced to life imprisonment must become eligible for parole no later than ten years after the commencement of incarceration. Accordingly, the district court's order that Kinslow not be eligible for parole review until 25 years is an illegal sentence. However, Gwaltney holds that the sentencing court's authority to set a minimum term under Sec. 4205(b)(1) is not limited to ten years. Therefore, because Kinslow was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, the district court has the authority to order that he will be ineligible for parole for twenty years. Cf. In re Advisory Opinion, 421 A.2d 535 (R.I.1980) (although state law provided that prisoners serving a life sentence were eligible for parole in ten years, prisoners serving two or more consecutive life terms must serve ten years on each sentence before parole). We vacate the sentence and remand this case to the district court for resentencing.CONCLUSION 37 Kinslow's conviction is AFFIRMED. His sentence is VACATED and this case is REMANDED to the district court for resentencing.