 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Thomas v. Maryland12/6/1993
twenty-year sentence is not unreasonable and should not be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
What are the factors that, according to the majority, make this twenty-year sentence for assault and battery cruel and unusual punishment when previously every other twenty-year sentence for assault and battery was not. We are not given much guidance. We are given only a factual analysis where the majority seems to have made its own findings of fact instead of taking the testimony and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the trial judge's decision. For example, the majority states that "the battery in this case did not result in any lasting physical injury, and cannot be considered legally 'serious.'" 333 Md. at 98, 634 A.2d at 7. This seems to create a brand new category of "not legally serious" common law assaults. This assault was "legally serious." Thomas outweighs his wife by approximately 40 pounds and is over a foot taller than she. The judge could reasonably have assumed that the "slap" was to punish Ms. Thomas for calling the police and was committed with all the force Thomas could muster. The majority opinion goes on to state, " he sentence is not the result of a recidivist history." 333 Md. at 98, 634 A.2d at 7. This ignores Thomas's two prior convictions, one with a jail sentence imposed for assault and battery. It also ignores the very serious subsequent assault he committed on his wife. In addition, the majority states that " he sentence was not based on any . . . judicial decision to impose severe penalties to deter domestic violence because of its societal impact." 333 Md. at 98, 634 A.2d at 7. To the contrary, the judge specifically stated, "I don't have one particular offense here. I've got a continuation of offenses and they're called spouse abuse. In this case, wife abuse. Very seldom is it one particular act and very seldom does it represent a passing motivation." The judge further stated, "everything that has been tried has not changed his behavior -- has not deterred his obsessiveness with doing physical
harm to her, even including incarceration." This sentence was deemed necessary in order to deter spousal abuse and to prevent severe future harm to this victim.
When is a sentence for assault and battery cruel and unusual punishment? The majority provides us with little or no guidance -- we can assume that, if on resentencing the judge gives Thomas nineteen years, the sentence would probably be reversed, but what about a fifteen-year sentence or a ten-year sentence. Judges need to know, and are entitled to know, what the maximum permissible punishment is for any crime. Some people, and Mr. Thomas is one, deserve the maximum permissible punishment for their crime. The Court reiterates that twenty years imprisonment is still a permissible punishment for the common law crime of assault and battery, but it leaves several questions unanswered. Are there "legally serious" and "not legally serious" degrees of common law assault carrying different maximum penalties? What is the maximum, constitutionally permissible sentence for the assault and battery in the instant case? The trial judge obviously intended to give Thomas the maximum sentence -- the Court should give the judge some guidance for resentencing.
The majority quotes with approval Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion in Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. , 111
S.Ct. 2680, 115 L.Ed.2d 836 (1991). In that same opinion Justice Kennedy also stated:
" he objective line between capital punishment and imprisonment for a term of years f
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Maryland DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|