Court Opinion

ID: 9779623
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 00:26:24.174899+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:36.851510
License: Public Domain

Lundberg Stratton, J.,
dissenting.
{¶ 82} The majority holds that the trial court failed to properly impose postrelease control and, therefore, that the case must be remanded so that *465Ketterer may be given the proper terms of postrelease control pursuant to R.C. 2929.191. I dissent.
Robin N. Piper, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney, and Michael A. Oster Jr., Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.
Timothy Young, Ohio Public Defender, and Randall L. Porter, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.
Ron O’Brien, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney, and Seth L. Gilbert and Steven L. Taylor, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys, urging affirmance for amicus curiae, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
{¶ 83} In Watkins v. Collins, 111 Ohio St.3d 425, 2006-Ohio-5082, 857 N.E.2d 78, this court acknowledged that the journal entries erroneously referred to discretionary, instead of mandatory, postrelease control, but determined that a “reasonable person in the position of any of the petitioners would have sufficient notice that postrelease control could be imposed following the expiration of the person’s sentence.” Id. at ¶ 51. Moreover, we noted that the “preeminent purpose of R.C. 2967.28” is that “offenders subject to postrelease control know at sentencing that their liberty could continue to be restrained after serving their initial sentences.” Id. at ¶ 52.
{¶ 84} In this case, Ketterer was advised that he was subject to postrelease control, that the duration of that postrelease control would be five years, and that imposition of the postrelease control was mandatory. Therefore, while the trial court may have misspoken and at one point used the word “and” instead of the word “through,” the trial court did comply with the requirement to advise Ketterer that postrelease control was mandatory for five years. Therefore, the preeminent purpose of R.C. 2967.28 was complied with, and no error should be found that warrants reversal.
{¶ 85} In addition, Ketterer was sentenced to death for aggravated murder and to terms of imprisonment for burglary, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, and grand theft of a motor vehicle. The term sentences were in addition to his sentence of death. Therefore, he will not ever be subject to postrelease control. Thus, any failure to properly impose postrelease control is also a factor in the harmless-error analysis. I respectfully dissent and would find that any failure to comply with the requirement to notify Ketterer of postrelease control constituted harmless error.