Court Opinion

ID: 9562887
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:34:43.040047+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:35.171467
License: Public Domain

NEIGHBORS, Justice,
dissenting:
Because I believe that the trial court seriously abused its discretion in sentencing the defendant to the Department of Corrections, I respectfully dissent.
The majority correctly states that sentencing is a discretionary decision which requires the trial court to weigh such factors as the gravity of the offense, the defendant’s history of prior criminal conduct, the rehabilitation needs and potential of the defendant and considerations of public protection. However, “the discretion implicit in the sentencing decision is not an unrestricted discretion devoid of reason or principle.” People v. Watkins, 200 Colo. 163, 166, 613 P.2d 633, 636 (1980). Thus, as the majority indicates, the record must clearly show that the sentence reflects a rational selection from various sentencing alternatives in a manner consistent with the dominant aims of the sentencing process, as set forth in section 18-1-102.5(1), 8 C.R.S. (1985 Supp.); maj. op. at 352. In other words, “the punishment should fit the offender and not merely the crime.” Watkins, 200 Colo, at 166, 613 P.2d at 636, quoting Williams v. New York, 337 U.S. 241, 247, 69 S.Ct. 1079, 1083, 93 L.Ed. 1337 (1949).
In this case, all of the professional persons who have evaluted the defendant or his history, including the expert witnesses who testified at the sentencing hearing, are unanimous in their opinion that the defendant requires intensive mental health treatment extending over several years in order to resolve the deep-seated personality disorders which played a role in the defendant’s shooting of his classmate. The type of treatment specifically recommended by the experts was a long-term program involving intensive supervision, staff confrontation, and interaction with other people with whom the defendant could learn the basics of “establishing safe relationships.” The uniform opinion of the witnesses was that the defendant’s prognosis would be significantly more favorable if he received the type of treatment recommended rather than minimal or no treat*355ment. Without therapeutic intervention, it was their opinion that the defendant would pose a serious risk to himself and to others.
Accordingly, the expert witnesses and the two probation officers responsible for preparation of the presentence report were unanimous in their view that the court should sentence the defendant to the Department of Institutions for placement in the Closed Adolescent Treatment Center. Their recommendation was based on several factors. First, the defendant had no prior criminal history. Second, the defendant was aware that “all was not well with him” and had sought psychiatric help shortly before the shooting. Third, a sentence to the Department of Corrections would provide little chance of correcting the diagnosed disorders because that Department does not have facilities or programs to treat disturbed juveniles. Finally, because renewal of the maximum two-year sentence to the Department of Institutions is usually granted as a routine matter, the defendant would receive four years of the intensive treatment necessary to resolve his psychological problems.
I take issue with the majority’s affirmance of the trial court’s finding “that the defendant would be able to obtain psychiatric treatment through the Department of Corrections, most likely at the State Reformatory.” Maj. op. at 354. Indeed, the evidence is to the contrary. First, the record establishes only that the mental health needs of the inmates in facilities operated by the Department of Corrections are not appropriately met. Second, that Department has no facilities or programs which provide treatment for adolescent offenders. The poverty of the trial court’s finding and reasoning is clearly demonstrated by the Department of Corrections’ wise and humane decision to place the defendant in the Closed Adolescent Treatment Center.1
The record indicates that the trial judge focused on the gravity of the crime to the exclusion of other factors in sentencing the defendant to the Department of Corrections for a term of 12 years. With the statutory day-for-day good time credit required by section 17-22.5-301, 8 C.R.S. (1985 Supp.), the defendant will likely serve only six years in confinement. Thus, under the trial court’s sentence, a deeply troubled young man will be released into the community in 1988 having received no meaningful psychotherapy. In contrast, a sentence to the Department of Institutions would have resulted in the defendant serving a four-year term and, most importantly, receiving the recommended treatment at a model facility. Protection of the public, an important sentencing consideration, will be ill-served by the trial court’s sentence. All of the witnesses agreed that the defendant would be a significantly greater risk to himself and others upon his release from incarceration if he was not treated.
The tone of the trial court’s ruling at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, including the repeated admonition to the defendant to “stand on your own two feet,” reflects either a shocking insensitivity to the psychiatric evidence presented or a total disregard of that evidence. I agree that the crime to which the defendant pleaded guilty “demonstrates an egregious lack of respect for human life.” Maj. op. at 353-54. However, the sentencing alternative chosen by the trial court, when viewed in light of the evidence, only compounds a senseless tragedy.
In summary, all those involved in the sentencing recommendation believed that a sentence to the Department of Institutions for placement in the Closed Adolescent Treatment Center would best serve both the rehabilitation needs of the defendant and the need to protect society at large. Given the unanimity of the recommenda-
*356tion and the numerous factors supporting that recommendation, I believe that the trial court seriously abused its discretion in sentencing the defendant to the Department of Corrections. The sentence does not reflect a rational selection from the various sentencing alternatives available to the trial judge, nor does the record establish a clear justification for the sentence imposed. People v. Scott, 630 P.2d 615 (Colo. 1981). I would reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the case for sentencing to the Department of Institutions in accordance with the overwhelming evidence in the record.
I am authorized to say that JUSTICE DUBOFSKY joins me in this dissent.

. The fact that the defendant has been placed for treatment at the Closed Adolescent Treatment Center does not alter my views. Legal custody of the defendant remains with the Department of Corrections. Therefore, the possibility exists that he could be placed in a facility with hardened criminals at any time. My principal concern, however, is with the majority’s view that the sentence imposed by the trial court did not constitute an abuse of discretion based on the information available at the sentencing hearing.