Opinion ID: 2352152
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Clark's Early Release from Prison

Text: In April 1994, when Clark was released from prison, he had served 21 years of a 32-year sentence. The evidence presented at the penalty hearing indicated that Clark did not use those 21 years productively and that, at the time of his release, Clark was ill-equipped to return to society. In light of these facts, Clark's counsel argues that Clark's early release from prison should have been considered a mitigating factor in the Superior Court's sentencing decision. The Superior Court made reference to Clark's early release and, in a footnote, criticized the Department of Correction's practices with respect to good time credits. However, the Superior Court did not expressly address the weight given to Clark's early release as a mitigating or aggravating factor. Accordingly, this Court remanded to the Superior Court for clarification. In its Supplemental Findings After Remand, the Superior Court explained that it did not consider Clark's early release as an aggravating or mitigating factor. The trial court questioned the relevance of this fact, noting that, the fortuitous release of James B. Clark, Jr., from prison bears neither on the circumstances or details of the commission of the offense nor on his character and propensities. State v. Clark, Del.Super., Cr.A. No. IN94-06-0543-0548, Barron, J. (September 29, 1995) (Supplemental Findings After Remand at p. 7). Nonetheless, the Superior Court concluded that, if Clark's early release were considered to be a mitigating factor, the sentence would remain the same, as the aggravating factors, would still clearly out-weigh the mitigating circumstances by a pre-ponderance of the evidence. Id. at p. 9. Counsel for Clark argues that the Superior Court missed the thrust of his argument and, therefore, failed to give adequate consideration to Clark's early release as a mitigating factor. According to counsel, the Department of Correction is partially responsible for James' and Elizabeth's deaths. Although Clark committed the murders, the Department of Correction gave him the opportunity by releasing him before he had served his full term. It is not enough to say, as the Superior Court did, that Clark would have been released at some point. One of the circumstances of these offenses is the fact that Clark was out of prison and able to commit them. Thus, according to counsel, the Superior Court erred in concluding that Clark's early release was irrelevant or, as the court put it, fortuitous. We cannot agree that the Department of Correction shares any blame for Clark's conduct. Clark was in full control of his faculties when he planned and carried out the brutal murders. However, we agree that Clark's early release from prison, in light of his violent disposition, is a factor that should be considered in the sentencing decision. It is a circumstance relevant to the commission of the offenses. The Superior Court initially acknowledged the early release issue, but gave it no weight as a mitigating or aggravating factor. After remand, the Superior Court continued to view this issue as marginally relevant, at best. However, the Superior Court concluded that, even if Clark's early release were a relevant mitigating factor, the aggravating factors would continue to far outweigh the mitigating factors. Accordingly, the Superior Court found that the sentence should not be changed. The record fully supports the Superior Court's conclusion that, even after considering Clark's early release as a mitigating factor, the aggravating factors far outweigh the mitigating factors. Clark committed these execution-style murders only one month after leaving prison. The victims were his elderly adoptive parents; the only people who had ever attempted to nurture and support Clark. The brutality of the murders and the defenselessness of the victims was compounded by Clark's prior vicious attack on a three-year-old child. The Superior Court determined that these aggravating factors far outweigh the mitigating factors of Clark's mental disorders, his cooperation with the police, his remorse, and his early release from prison. We find that decision to be neither arbitrary nor capricious. Rather, it was the product of a rational, logical, deductive process.