 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Worthley2/3/2003
es while under the influence of intoxicants, the widespread public outcry against OUI, and the demand for increased sentences as reflected in the history of section 2411. For these reasons a sentence of 364 days in jail with all but seven days suspended and probation for one year for a second OUI offense is neither disproportionate nor offensive to prevailing notions of decency.
[ 7] The fact that the sentence imposed on Worthley may be harsher and have longer detrimental effects on him than it would on an ordinary person does not mean that the sentence as applied to him may be disproportionate or offend prevailing notions of decency. Assuming, without deciding, that it may be possible in rare cases that a mandatory minimum sentence is cruel and unusual because of the characteristics of the individual or because of the manner in which the sentence is carried out, [FN1] there was not enough information in this case for the court to conclude that the conditions and length of confinement would result, in fact, in an excessive sentence as applied to Worthley. There was no evidence as to how the sheriff charged with executing the sentence would manage the incarceration; that is, whether the sheriff could make arrangements to accommodate Worthley so as to lessen the detrimental effect of the jail stay on him. Not all jail conditions are the same for all prisoners, and jailers are often in the position of making accommodations for individuals with various medical conditions and handicaps. See, e.g., State v. Bonney, 659 A.2d 1269, 1269 (Me.1995) (noting accommodations at Maine State Prison for amputees, terminally ill prisoners, and others); Dep't of Corr. v. Superior Court, 622 A.2d 1131, 1135 (Me.1993) (stating that sentencing courts may make appropriate recommendations to jailer concerning needs of defendants). Without evidence or information as to how the sheriff intended to manage Worthley's sentence, the court was unable to determine that Worthley's condition could not be accommodated, and, thus, unable to find that applying the mandatory minimum jail sentence to Worthley would result in an unconstitutionally excessive sentence.
FN1. In State v. King, 330 A.2d 124, 127 (Me.1974), we indicated that a minimum mandatory sentence could be unconstitutional if it was of such great severity that it lost the rational relationship between it and the evil it was intended to address.
The entry is:
Judgment affirmed.
Page 1 2 Maine DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|