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State v. Christianson7/1/1999
APPEAL FROM: District Court of the First Judicial District, In and for the County of Lewis and Clark, The Honorable Jeffrey M. Sherlock, Judge presiding.
Submitted on Briefs: November 12, 1998
Opinion of the Court.
. Curtis Jerome Christianson appeals from the amended judgment and sentence entered by the District Court. He contends that the District Court's restriction on his parole eligibility was unlawful. We affirm.
. The issue raised on appeal is whether the District Court's restriction of Christianson's parole eligibility complied with § 46-18-115(6), MCA, and § 46-18-202(2), MCA. To resolve this issue, we address three sub-issues:
. 1. Did the District Court violate § 46-18-115(6), MCA, by failing to state in open court its reasons for restricting Christianson's parole eligibility?
. 2. Was the District Court authorized to issue an order amending the written judgment to list its reasons for imposing the parole eligibility restriction, in compliance with § 46-18-115(6), MCA, and § 46-18-202(2), MCA?
. 3. Did the District Court impose the parole eligibility restriction for insufficient reasons, and thus abuse its discretion?
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
. On the morning of September 6, 1996, Christianson was drinking beer and playing video games in his living room. His three-year-old daughter, Taylor Nicole Salley, was running and playing in the house. Taylor ran in front of Christianson, spilled his beer and accidentally unplugged the power cord on Christianson's game machine. Christianson became angry and struck her in the stomach with a backhanded blow. He hit Taylor with such force that she was knocked unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she complained of stomach pains. Christianson failed to seek medical attention, even though Taylor continued to get sicker throughout the day.
. At about 9:00 p.m. that evening, Taylor began coughing up a dark colored mucous. Only then did Christianson contact emergency services. By the time help arrived, Taylor was unconscious, and upon her arrival at the hospital, she was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed that Taylor died as the result of sepsis due to the transection of her bowel. Christianson's blow, in conjunction with damage done on previous occasions when he hit her, had severed Taylor's intestine and caused her death.
. Christianson was charged by information with deliberate homicide. He subsequently pleaded guilty to an amended charge of mitigated deliberate homicide. After a sentencing hearing held on October 9, 1997, the District Court sentenced Christianson to a prison term of 40 years, with 10 years suspended. It further designated that Christianson be ineligible for parole. The District Court filed its written judgment and commitment that same day. However, the document failed to set forth the court's reasons for restricting Christianson's parole eligibility.
. Christianson did not appeal the judgment and commitment, but thereafter he filed an application for sentence review with the Sentence Review Division of this Court. The Division remanded the case to the District Court with instructions that it include in its judgment the reasons it declared Christianson ineligible for parole or participation in a supervised release program pursuant to § 46-18-202(2), MCA.
. In compliance with the Division's directive, the District Court entered an order on March 19, 1998, amending its prior judgment and commitment and setting forth its reasons for ordering that Christianson be ineligible for parole. Christianson filed his notice of appeal on May 12, 1998.
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