Court Opinion

ID: 9849724
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:45:06.418846+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:25.410832
License: Public Domain

Justice Frye
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
In this case, the majority decides two issues. I agree with its decision on the first issue, that the procedures by which juvenile court judges transfer cases to superior court are adequately protective of the due process rights of juveniles. I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the sentencing of this thirteen-year-old juvenile, after such transfer and conviction, to a mandatory term of life imprisonment for first-degree sexual offense does not constitute cruel or unusual punishment under the North Carolina Constitution. Accordingly, I must dissent as to that portion of the opinion.
This case presents a singular situation arising because of the interaction of two separate enactments of the General Assembly, which resulted in a thirteen-year-old, borderline mentally retarded juvenile with no prior criminal record being tried as an adult and subjected to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for the crime of first-degree sexual offense2 . In this state, prior to 1 May 1994, neither defendant nor any other thirteen-year-old was subject to a mandatory life sentence for the crime of first-degree sexual offense. After 1 October 1994, and continuing to the present time, no defendant, adult or juvenile, is subject to a mandatory life sentence for that crime. Therefore, a mandatory life sentence was possible for a thirteen-year-old juvenile in North Carolina only during a five-month period.
The majority cites some eighteen jurisdictions which allow the transfer of thirteen-year-old offenders to adult court, and it further notes that a growing minority of states permit a sentence of life imprisonment for sexual offense. However, defendant cites thirty-one jurisdictions where a life sentence is not available for sexual offense, noting that only two states, Arizona and Iowa, have mandatory life sentences for sexual offense, and that in Iowa, thirteen-year-olds are not eligible for trial as adults. Thus, it appears that Arizona is the only state in the nation today where a thirteen-year-old juvenile, upon conviction for sexual offense, will be subject to a mandatory term of life imprisonment.
*614I believe the narrow legal question presented by this case is whether defendant’s mandatory life sentence under these circumstances constitutes cruel or unusual punishment under Article I, Section 27 of the North Carolina Constitution.
This Court has said, “[i]t is within the province of the General Assembly of North Carolina and not the judiciary to determine the extent of punishment which may be imposed on those convicted of crime.” State v. Cradle, 281 N.C. 198, 209, 188 S.E.2d 296, 303, cert, denied, 409 U.S. 1047, 34 L. Ed. 2d 499 (1972). This reliance on legislative judgment assumes that the General Assembly acted intentionally and with full knowledge of the effect of its enactments. Thus, great deference is due decisions of that branch of government as the representative of the people. Occasionally, however, cases come before this Court which raise the question of whether the General Assembly envisioned the potential result of the interrelation of its various legislative enactments, including sentencing statutes.
During the 1994 Special Session, the General Assembly changed the method of punishment for crime in North Carolina by repealing the Fair Sentencing Act and adopting structured sentencing. As a part of those statutory changes, the General Assembly eliminated mandatory sentences for all crimes except first-degree murder. At that same session, the General Assembly also reduced the age at which a juvenile could be tried as an adult, from fourteen to thirteen years of age. While the effective dates of the two enactments were different, it is at least doubtful that the legislature considered, or was aware, that it was creating a five-month period during which thirteen-year-old juveniles would be subject to a mandatory life sentence for offenses other than murder.
The majority correctly points out that this Court has held that a mandatory life sentence for first-degree sexual offense does not constitute cruel or unusual punishment. Suffice it to say that none of those cases involved a thirteen-year-old juvenile tried as an adult. The majority notes that whether a specific punishment is cruel and unusual is evaluated in the context of society’s “evolving standards of decency.” Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101, 2 L. Ed. 2d 630, 642 (1958). Assuming that this is also the proper standard under the North Carolina Constitution, the General Assembly’s repeal of mandatory life imprisonment for first-degree sexual offense must be considered “reliable[,] objective evidence of contemporary values.” Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 331, 106 L. Ed. 2d 256, 286 (1989). By elimi*615nating the mandatory life sentence for all defendants convicted of this crime, the legislature cannot realistically be deemed to have specifically intended that thirteen-year-old juveniles be suddenly subject to mandatory life terms during the five-month period of 1 May to 1 October 1994.
Defendant, Andre Demetrius Green, a thirteen-year-old, borderline mentally retarded juvenile, was charged with the crime of first-degree sexual offense in August 1994 and was transferred to superior court for trial as an adult. Upon the jury verdict of guilty of first-degree sexual offense, the trial judge had no discretion but to sentence defendant to the mandatory term of life imprisonment. The judge could not consider or weigh any mitigating factors in determining whether a sentence less than life imprisonment was the appropriate penalty. Nor could the judge, in determining a proper sentence, consider defendant’s age or prior record level as he could have if the Structured Sentencing Act had been in effect. Defendant’s mandatory life sentence was both excessive and unique in its severity. His punishment was, and is, an anomaly in contemporary North Carolina case law, inconsistent with this State’s own evolving standards of decency as evidenced by the replacement of mandatory sentencing with the Structured Sentencing Act.
While this Court has often used the same analysis for the state and federal constitutions in terms of whether the prescribed punishment is cruel and unusual, the North Carolina Constitution since 1868 has prohibited punishments that are cruel or unusual. Clearly, defendant’s punishment, under the state of the law as it existed at the time of his commission of the offense, was unusual within the meaning of Article I, Section 27 of the North Carolina Constitution. Therefore, as to the portion of the majority opinion which holds otherwise, I respectfully dissent.
Justice Whichard and Justice Parker join in this concurring and - dissenting opinion.

. As the majority opinion notes, defendant was also sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for attempted first-degree rape and fifteen years’ imprisonment for first-degree burglary. He thus should remain incarcerated for a considerable period of time even if his mandatory life sentence for first-degree sexual offense is stricken as unconstitutional for the reasons set forth herein.