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State v. Sodaro6/22/2005
ny about defendant's impaired brain function and how that affects his behavior. It made findings about defendant's medical history that defendant does not challenge on appeal. The court determined that defendant's self-destructive behavior in prison was consistent with his past and did not result from the correctional facility's medical services, or lack thereof. In essence, defendant's motion sought to remedy the lack of appropriate health care services through sentence modification. Sentence reconsideration is not the right remedy for an alleged lack of prison health care services.
. It is well established that sentence reconsideration pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 7042 is not intended to address post-incarceration matters. State v. LaPine, 148 Vt. 14, 15, 527 A.2d 1150, 1150 (1987) (per curiam). Rather, the statute's purpose is to give the district court an opportunity to consider anew "the circumstances and factors present at the time of the original sentencing." Id. In this case, defendant grounded his motion on post-sentencing circumstances rather than some misapprehension by the court of the circumstances that existed in July 2003 when it sentenced defendant. At sentencing, the district court knew about defendant's brain disorder and his medical history. It ordered defendant to serve two years of the otherwise suspended sentence in recognition of defendant's long criminal record and the danger he posed to the community. The court observed that defendant would likely get better medical care outside of prison, but it explained that protecting the community was a greater concern. Nothing in defendant's motion altered the court's judgment that a period of incarceration was appropriate given the circumstances.
. The district court's order denying reconsideration of defendant's sentence is supported by the evidence and is consistent with the purpose of § 7042. No error appears.
Affirmed.
Paul L. Reiber, Chief Justice
John A. Dooley, Associate Justice
Denise R. Johnson, Associate Justice
Marilyn S. Skoglund, Associate Justice
Frederic W. Allen, Chief Justice (Ret.) Specially Assigned
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