Opinion ID: 672146
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Downward Departure for Diminished Capacity

Text: 13 Relying on Sec. 5K2.13 of the Sentencing Guidelines, the district court reduced Salemi's offense level due to his diminished mental capacity. Section 5K2.13 provides as follows: If the defendant committed a non-violent offense while suffering from significantly reduced mental capacity ... a lower sentence may be warranted to reflect the extent to which reduced mental capacity contributed to the commission of the offense.... The district court concluded that Salemi suffered a mental defect that made him particularly susceptible to the influence of females that he trusted. The court further concluded that Salemi was a nonviolent person who probably believed he was protecting the baby. 14 The government contends that the district court erroneously departed downward based upon Salemi's diminished mental capacity because the plain language of section 5K2.13 explicitly excludes violent offenders--such as kidnappers--thereby rendering Salemi ineligible for a downward departure under this provision. 15 In United States v. Russell, 917 F.2d 512 (11th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 953, 111 S.Ct. 1427, 113 L.Ed.2d 479 (1991), this court determined that the Sentencing Commission had considered the mental or emotional condition of a defendant when the Commission stated that those conditions are not ordinarily relevant in determining whether a sentence should be outside the guidelines, except as provided in the general provisions of chapter 5. U.S.S.G. Sec. 5H1.3, p.s.; Russell, 917 F.2d at 517. The Sentencing Commission specifically considered diminished capacity in U.S.S.G. Sec. 5K2.13, p.s. Russell, 917 F.2d at 517. 16 While it is undisputed that Salemi had a history of mental illness, the guidelines and the case law are clear in stating that mental and emotional conditions should not be considered if the defendant committed a violent crime. United States v. Fairman, 947 F.2d 1479 (11th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1503, 117 L.Ed.2d 642 (1992); Russell, 917 F.2d at 517. 17 Kidnapping is a violent crime. Section 4B1.2, U.S.S.G., defines crime of violence as any offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. Application Note 2 of U.S.S.G. Sec. 4B1.2 includes kidnapping in its listing of crimes that are crimes of violence. The Commission recognized that kidnapping inherently involves the threat of violence. 18 The district court erroneously focused on Salemi rather than the crime itself, when it stated, you have to consider ... the individual committing the offense in deciding whether it is a crime of violence. This conclusion is in direct conflict with Application Note 2 of U.S.S.G. Sec. 4B1.2 which states that the conduct of which the defendant was convicted is the focus of inquiry. 19 In Russell, despite the fact that the gun was neither fired nor loaded, this court held the bank robbery to be a crime of violence. This case is analogous to Russell in that in both cases the defendants contended that their dependent personality disorders warranted a downward departure due to diminished capacity. The district court in Russell, as in this case, agreed and departed downward from the adjusted guideline range. On appeal, this court vacated and remanded Russell, holding that mental and emotional conditions of the defendant cannot be considered as a mitigating factor when the offense of conviction is a crime of violence. 20 Because kidnapping is a crime of violence, we hold that the district court erred in its downward departure based upon Salemi's diminished mental capacity. 21