Opinion ID: 867512
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intra-jurisdictional Comparison.

Text: ¶ 38 Once an inference of gross disproportionality has been found, the Supreme Court suggests that a reviewing court validate that impression by conducting an intra-and inter-jurisdictional analysis. [6] Harmelin, 501 U.S. at 1005, 111 S.Ct. at 2707 (Kennedy, J., concurring); Solem, 463 U.S. at 291-92, 103 S.Ct. at 3010. In the intra-jurisdictional analysis, we compare the sentences imposed in Arizona for crimes more serious than those committed by Davis to see whether those sentences validate our tentative conclusion of gross disproportionality. See Bartlett I, 164 Ariz. at 242, 792 P.2d at 705. ¶ 39 Little has changed since this court conducted a similar analysis in 1990 in Bartlett I. Id. at 236-37, 792 P.2d at 699-700. It continues to be the case that those guilty of more serious crimes, such as second degree murder, sexual assault, or continued sexual abuse of a minor under fifteen years of age receive the same presumptive sentence that Davis did. See A.R.S. § 13-604.01(C). It also remains true that dangerous crimes against children such as kidnapping, child abuse, aggravated assault, or commercial sexual exploitation of a child, all seemingly more dangerous crimes than Davis's, carry a lesser presumptive sentence and, with mitigation, those who commit such crimes are eligible for a ten-year minimum sentence for each count, less than the thirteen-year minimum sentence for each count for Davis's crime. A.R.S. § 13-604.01(D). ¶ 40 Additionally, other serious felony offenses not involving children receive significantly less severe sentences in Arizona. Those guilty of kidnapping a person older than fifteen, A.R.S. § 13-1304 (2001), sexual assault of a victim older than fifteen, A.R.S. § 13-1406 (2001), first degree burglary of a residential structure, A.R.S. § 13-1508 (2001), and arson of an occupied structure, A.R.S. § 13-1704 (2001), are all eligible for more lenient sentences, and the sentencing judge may order that multiple sentences be served concurrently. See A.R.S. § 13-708 (2001). ¶ 41 In response, the State cites five decisions affirming extremely harsh sentences imposed against those convicted of sex crimes against children. Taylor, 160 Ariz. at 422, 773 P.2d at 981 (eighty-five consecutive life sentences for a total of 2975 years for sexual exploitation and sexual conduct with minors); State v. Jones, 188 Ariz. 534, 937 P.2d 1182 (App.1996) (six consecutive twenty-five-year sentences for sexual assault); State v. Hamilton, 177 Ariz. 403, 868 P.2d 986 (App.1993) (three consecutive twenty-year sentences for child molestation); State v. Ross, 166 Ariz. 579, 804 P.2d 112 (App.1990) (twenty-five-year sentence for one count of sexual assault); State v. Crego, 154 Ariz. 278, 742 P.2d 289 (App.1987) (forty-year sentence for child molestation). The State argues that these cases show that Davis's sentences are not grossly disproportionate given the way other similar crimes have been punished in Arizona. ¶ 42 But even a cursory review of these five cases reveals enormous differences in the nature of the crimes, the harm to the victims and to society, and the culpability of the defendants. In Jones, the victim was the defendant's daughter, whom he raped and molested, coerced by threats of violence, for nearly ten years, from the time the child was five years old until she turned fourteen. Jones, 188 Ariz. at 537, 539, 937 P.2d at 1185, 1187. The five known victims who were the subjects of the eighty-five counts on which Taylor was convicted ranged from three to eight years old, and many unknown victims were never located. Taylor, 160 Ariz. at 417, 423, 773 P.2d at 976, 982. [7] The defendant, who had three prior felonies involving sexual conduct with minors, had a large collection of photographs of the young victims engaged in various sex acts with each other and with him. Id. at 417, 422, 773 P.2d at 976, 981. In Hamilton, the victims were the defendant's girlfriend's twelve- and nine-year-old daughters, who had been subjected to years of sexual abuse and threats of violence when left in the defendant's care. Hamilton, 177 Ariz. at 405, 868 P.2d at 988. In Ross, the defendant and two other males abducted a fourteen-year-old girl whom they sexually assaulted. Ross, 166 Ariz. at 582, 804 P.2d at 115. Finally, the defendant in Crego was convicted of molesting two children under the age of fifteen only months after being released from prison for similar conduct. Crego, 154 Ariz. at 279-80, 742 P.2d at 290-91. ¶ 43 Thus, the facts of these cases stand in stark contrast to the facts of the case before us, in which the post-pubescent victims sought Davis out and willingly participated in the criminal acts. [8] Indeed, we draw two conclusions from the cases the State cites. First, Davis's fifty-two-year sentence is grossly disproportionate to his crimes when compared with the sentences imposed for the crimes described in the five cases cited by the State. Second, these cases vividly demonstrate why, when considering the proportionality of a sentence imposed, this court must look beyond the nomenclature of the crime charged and consider the facts of each particular case.