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State v. Gay1/24/2001
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Appellant maintains that because the statute in effect at the time of sentencing allowed a thirty-year sentence, whereas the statute in effect at the time of the crime mandated life imprisonment, the trial court should have considered the statute in effect at the time of sentencing. Specifically, appellant relies on this Court's decision in State v. Varner, 310 S.C. 264, 423 S.E.2d 133 (1992). In Varner, the Court stated that " n the absence of a controlling statute, the common law requires that a convicted criminal receive the punishment in effect at the time he is sentenced, unless it is greater than the punishment provided for when the offense was committed." Id. at 265, 423 S.E.2d at 133.
Appellant argues that Varner applies, and therefore, the trial court should have considered a thirty-year sentence. However, the Varner Court indicated that the Legislature could state its intent for new, lesser penalties to take effect based on the date of the crime rather than the date of sentencing. See Varner, 310 S.C. at 266 n.3, 423 S.E.2d at 134 n.3. The Act which amended section 16-3-20 specifically addressed its effective date. Section 62 states that the Act "takes effect January 1, 1996, and applies prospectively to all crimes committed on or after that date . . . ." 1995 S.C. Acts No. 83, § 62 (emphasis added).
Because the Legislature expressly stated its intent for prospective application based upon the date of the crime's commission, the general rule of Varner does not apply. The crime in this case was committed on December 31, 1995, one day before the amended statute's effective date; therefore, the trial court correctly sentenced appellant to a mandatory life imprisonment term. See S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-20(A) (Supp. 1995).
Accordingly, appellant's life sentence is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
TOAL, C.J., MOORE, BURNETT and PLEICONES, JJ., concur.
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