Court Opinion

ID: 9700542
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 21:34:27.773826+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:10.646949
License: Public Domain

RIDGELY, Justice,
concurring:
I agree that Chao is entitled to post-conviction relief under Williams. I write separately, however, because among the issues to be determined after remand is whether the State elects to prosecute Chao for felony murder at a new trial consistent with Williams.
Typically, when a defendant succeeds on a post conviction relief motion, the matter is set for a new trial.1 In some situations, however, such as when the State stipulates or otherwise agrees to sentencing for a lesser-included crime, a new trial is not necessary. While that ultimately may be the case here, there is no indication in the present record, as there was in Kirk2 and Rivera,3 that the State has elected not to prosecute the defendant for felony murder under the retroactive rule of Williams. This is an issue for the Superior Court to determine in this case and in others where post conviction relief is sought based upon the retroactive application of that case.

APPENDIX

COMPARISON OP SENTENCES
Notes:
1.The following abbreviations are used.
LWOP life imprisonment without parole
LWP parolable life sentence
*10042. Inmates who are subject to the Truth in Sentencing Act are designated by “TIS” after their name.
3. Column 3 in the table reflects the defendant’s sentence if the defendant’s felony murder conviction is reduced under Williams to manslaughter. See Kirk v. State, 2005 WL 3526325 (Del. Dec. 23, 2005). The identical information was presented under the heading “Williams Sentence” in the chart submitted by the State on April 16, 2007.
4. Before the Truth in Sentencing Act took effect on June 30, 1990, manslaughter was classified as a Class B felony, punishable by a prison term of 3 to 30 years. Del.Code Ann. tit. 11, §§ 632, 4205(b)(2) (Repl.3987). Upon the Truth in Sentencing Act taking effect on June 30, 1990, manslaughter was classified as a Class C felony, punishable by a prison term of 0 to 10 years. Del.Code Ann. tit. 11, §§ 632, 4205(b)(2) (Repl.1995). (The current classification of manslaughter as a class B felony, punishable by 2 to 25 years imprisonment, became effective June 30, 2003. 74 Del. Laws ch. 106, §§ 2, 9-10.) The sentence information in Column 3 assumes that a defendant whose felony murder conviction is reduced to manslaughter is sentenced to the maximum term.
5. Column 4 in the table reflects the defendant’s remaining sentence if the defendant’s felony murder is vacated under Williams. This information was not contained in the chart submitted by the State on April 36,2007.
Inmate Current Sentence Manslaughter Sentence Remaining Sentence
James W. Riley LWOP plus 25 years 55 years 25 years
Ralph Hawkins (TIS) LWOP 10 years 0 year's
Miles Brice (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 5 years 25 years 5 years
Robert Garvey (TIS) LWOP plus 30 years 40 years 30 years
Carmelo Claudio LWOP, LWP plus 45 years LWP plus 75 years LWP plus 45 years
Robert Golson LWOP plus 37 year’s (murder sentence later commuted to parolable life) 67 years 37 years
Wilbur Johnson LWOP plus 37 years 67 years 37 years
Sterling Hobbs (Amir Fatir) LWOP plus 67 years 97 years 67 years
Maurice Giles LWOP 30 years 0 years
Enrique Maymi LWOP, LWP plus 45 years LWP plus 75 years LWP plus 45 years
Darrel Page (TIS) 4 LWOP plus 113 years 3 LWOP plus 123 years 3 LWOP plus 113 years
Michael Jones (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 44 years LWOP plus 54 years LWOP plus 44 years
Justin Burrell (TIS) LWOP plus 50 years 60 years 50 years
Jermaine Barnett (TIS) LWOP plus 90 1/2 years 100 1/2 years 90 1/2 years
Hector Barrow (TIS) LWOP plus 86 years 96 years 86 years
Kevin Hill (TIS) LWOP plus 50 years 60 years 50 years
Arthur Govan (TIS) 4 LWOP plus 115 years 2 LWOP plus 135 years 2 LWOP plus 115 years
Donald Flagg (TIS) 3 LWOP plus 43 years 2 LWOP plus 53 years 2 LWOP 43 years
William Gaines 2 LWOP LWOP plus 30 years LWOP
Richard Massey LWOP plus 41 years 71 years 41 years
Frank Whalen LWOP, LWP plus 30 yeai-s LWP plus 60 years LWP plus 30 years
Alan Brooks LWOP plus 52 years 82 years 52 years
Shane Deshields (TIS) LWOP plus 102 years 112 years 102 years
Tyrone Baxter LWOP 30 years 0 years
Richard Roth, Sr. (TIS) LWOP plus 166 years 176 years 166 years
Paul Robertson (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 95 years 115 years 95 years
Micheál R. Smith (TIS) LWOP plus 140 years 150 years 140 years
Vicky Chao 3 LWOP plus 6 years 96 years 6 years
Lawrence Collingwood LWOP plus 10 years 40 years 10 years
Ernest Parsons 4 LWOP plus 127 years 2 LWOP plus 187 year’s 2 LWOP plus 127 years
John Watson (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 40 years LWOP plus 50 years LWOP plus 40 years
James Blount 2 LWOP plus 45 years LWOP plus 75 years LWOP plus 45 years
Randolph Graham 2 LWOP plus 60 years LWOP plus 90 years LWOP plus 60 years
Richard Thompson 2 LWOP plus 25 years LWOP plus 55 years LWOP plus 25 years
Christopher Long (TIS) 4 LWOP plus 120 years 2 LWOP plus 140 years 2 LWOP plus 120 years
Joyce Greenwood (Lynch) 4 LWOP plus 77 years 2 LWOP plus 137 years 2 LWOP plus 77 years
Richard Roth, Jr. (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 188 years LWOP plus 198 years LWOP plus 188 years
James Llewellyn (TIS) 4 LWOP plus 125 years 2 LWOP plus 145 years 2 LWOP plus 125 years
Kenneth Rodgers (TIS) 4 LWOP plus 105 years 2 LWOP plus 125 years 2 LWOP plus 105 years
Tze-Poong Liu 6 LWOP plus 22 years 3 LWOP plus 112 years 3 LWOP plus 22 years
Antonio Taylor (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 33 years LWOP plus 43 years LWOP plus 33 years
David Rush 2 LWOP, 3 LWP plus 8 years LWOP, 3 LWP plus 38 years LWOP, 3 LWP plus 8 years
James Perez (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 38 years LWOP plus 48 years LWOP plus 38 years
Luis Cabrera (TIS) 2 LWOP plus 9 years LWOP plus 19 years LWOP plus 9 years
Steven Shelton (TIS) 2 Death plus 45 years 1 Death plus 55 years 1 Death plus 45 years
Robert Jackson (TIS) 2 Death plus 46 years 1 Death plus 56 years 1 Death plus 46 years
Adam Norcross (TIS) 3 Death plus 130 years 1 Death plus 150 years 1 Death plus 130 years
Craig Zebroski (TIS) 2 Death plus 61 years 1 Death plus 71 years 1 Death plus 61 years
*1005Jermaine Wright (TIS) 2 Death plus 50 years 1 Death plus 60 years 1 Death plus 50 years
Ralph Swan (TIS) 3 Death plus 132 years 1 Death plus 152 years 1 Death plus 132 years

. Chao, for example, obtained post-conviction relief of her first conviction because of perjured testimony. A new trial followed.

. See Kirk v. State, 889 A.2d 283 (Del.2005) (TABLE) ("[T]he State argued that Kirk should be re-sentenced on the lesser-included charges of manslaughter and second-degree assault.”).

. See Rivera v. State, 351 A.2d 561, 563 (Del.1976) (“But here ... justice does not require a new trial. The thrust of the defendant’s appeal in this regard is not that she was deprived of a complete defense to the charge of murder, but that she was deprived of a defense of mitigation which would have afforded her the opportunity of a manslaughter verdict. Thus, judgment of manslaughter, a lesser offense included within murder in the second degree under 11 Del.C. § 206(b)(3). and sentence thereon, will resolve this issue in the defendant's favor. With the concurrence of both the State and the Defendant, we so hold.”) (citing Fuentes v. State, 349 A.2d 1, 7 (Del.1975)). (emphasis added).