Court Opinion

ID: 9529896
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:55:15.30476+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:56.967475
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE STOUDER, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I join with my colleagues in affirming the judgment of conviction of defendant, James Murdock, on one charge of deviate sexual assault and reversing the second judgment of conviction. However, I believe the sentence imposed of not less than 40 nor more than 120 years in the penitentiary is excessive and the sentence should either be reduced or the cause should be remanded for reconsideration of the sentence. The offense for which the defendant stands convicted is serious, and the record fails to reflect any mitigating circumstances favorable to the defendant. However, the sentence imposed in this case appears to be the result of one of our sentencing dilemmas. For various reasons trial courts are often inclined to impose “big number” sentences on the theory that courts of review will act appropriately if the sentence is excessive. Courts of review on the other hand, give great deference to the sentence imposed by the trial court and, consequently, realistic review of a sentence is fraught with many problems. It seems to me that minimum sentences such as the one imposed in the instant case are and should be reserved for those cases where the offense is so serious or so aggravated that it is at the top of the scale in considering the relevant nature of the misconduct involved. Without in any way intending to minimize the seriousness of the offense involved in this case, the record fails to demonstrate brutality, excess force or extraordinary physical violence which could have accompanied the offense. Instead, we have little evidence of physical violence, no forceful attempt at intercourse and no physical injury. Under these circumstances it seems to me that the record does not disclose the aggravated occurrence which should exist before a sentence of the magnitude of the sentence imposed in this case is warranted.