State v. Smith

898 S.W.2d 742, 1994 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 685, 1994 WL 804139
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee·Decided October 19, 1994·No. 02-C-01-9402-CC-00022·Published·Cited by 90 cases

Opinion

OPINION

JONES, Judge.

The appellant, Mark Smith, was convicted of arson, a Class C felony, following his plea of guilty to the offense. The trial court sentenced the appellant pursuant to the Tennessee Community Corrections Act of 1985, Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-36-101, et seq. Finding that the appellant was a standard offender, the trial court imposed a Range I sentence consisting of six (6) years in the Department of Correction, of which eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29) days is to be served in the Henderson County Jail, 300 hours of community service, and a $2,000 fine. The appellant was permitted to enter the work release program so that he could continue his employment. The appellant was also ordered to pay restitution in the sum of $92,111 “by making regulary monthly payments as best as possible.”

The appellant’s conviction is affirmed and the sentence is modified. This cause is remanded to the trial court for a hearing on the amount of restitution that the appellant should pay in this case and the determination of a sum certain that he must pay periodically to satisfy this amount.

The appellant was thirty-five years of age when he was sentenced. He was married to his wife for fifteen years and had an eleven year old son. The marriage terminated in divorce. The appellant had worked for the same company for eleven years. According to the investigation conducted by a community corrections officer, the appellant had never been arrested or convicted of a crime.

Several letters were written to the trial judge attesting to the appellant’s good moral character, his standing in the community, and his involvement with his church. In addition, the medical report of a psychiatrist was introduced into evidence. The report reveals that the appellant was hospitalized for psychiatric problems on July 20, 1992. He was discharged on August 5, 1992. The diagnosis was “Major Depression with Psychosis.” The doctor described the appellant’s condition at the time of sentencing as “fragile.” According to the doctor, if the appellant encountered “major depressors,” he could suffer a recurrence of the psychotic depression.

In July of 1992, the appellant and his wife had an argument about one of their motor vehicles. The appellant’s wife subsequently *745 went to her parent’s home with her son. She called the appellant, advised him that she wanted a divorce, and told him she wanted him to leave the residence. The appellant was not on the best of terms with his own parents. When his wife advised him that she wanted a divorce, he decided that no one loved or cared about him. He decided to commit suicide.

The appellant considered several ways to commit suicide. He decided to burn the residence as well as himself. He obtained five one-gallon plastic milk containers filled with gasoline. He placed the gasoline inside the residence and turned on the heat in a bathroom. He subsequently went to sleep. When he awoke, he realized no one had called to check on him so he decided to continue with his suicide plan. He struck a match and an explosion ensued. The appellant was blown through the front door but he was not injured. He immediately went to the home of his parents in Decaturville. They took him to Memphis where he talked with a minister. The minister advised the appellant to retain an attorney. The attorney, realizing that the appellant was suicidal, recommended that he be hospitalized for his own well-being.

The trial court found that the appellant “has had some rather serious emotional problems and mental problems. There is no doubt whatever about that.” However, the trial court further found that the appellant’s conduct shortly before setting the residence on fire was “indicative of some person bent on some form of vengeance, revenge or sheer meanness.”

I.

A.

When an accused challenges the length or the manner of service of a sentence imposed by the trial court, it is the duty of this Court to conduct a de novo review of the record “with a presumption that the determinations made by the court from which the appeal is taken are correct.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-401(d) (1990). However, there are exceptions to this requirement. First, the requirement that this Court presume the determinations made by the trial court are correct is “conditioned upon the affirmative showing in the record that the trial court considered the sentencing principles and all relevant facts and circumstances.” State v. Ashby, 823 S.W.2d 166, 169 (Tenn.1991). Second, the presumption does not apply to the legal conclusions reached by the trial court in sentencing the accused. State v. Bonestel, 871 S.W.2d 163, 166 (Tenn.Crim. App.1993). Third, the presumption does not apply when the determinations made by the trial court are predicated upon uncontrovert-ed facts or a document, such as a presen-tence report or medical report. Bonestel, 871 S.W.2d at 166.

In conducting a de novo review of a sentence, this Court must consider:

(a) any evidence received at the trial and/or sentencing hearing, (b) the presen-tence report, (c) the principles of sentencing, (d) the arguments of counsel relative to sentencing alternatives, (e) the nature and characteristics of the offense, (f) any mitigating or enhancing factors, (g) any statements made by the accused in his own behalf, and (h) the accused’s potential or lack of potential for rehabilitation.

State v. Scott, 735 S.W.2d 825, 829 (Tenn. Crim.App.1987) (citing Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-35-103 and -210).

When the accused raises sentencing issues in this Court, the accused has the burden of establishing that the sentences imposed by the trial court were erroneous. Sentencing Commission Comments to Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-401(d) (1990); Ashby, 823 S.W.2d at 169; State v. Fletcher, 805 S.W.2d 785, 786 (Tenn.Crim.App.1991). In this case, the appellant has the burden of establishing that the length of confinement is excessive and that the trial court abused its discretion in requiring him to make restitution in the amount of $92,111.

B.

If an accused has been convicted of a Class C, D or B felony and sentenced as an especially mitigated offender or standard offender, there is a presumption that the accused is a favorable candidate for alternative *746 sentencing unless disqualified by some provision of the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989. Tenn. Code Ann.

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State v. Smith, 898 S.W.2d 742, 1994 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 685, 1994 WL 804139 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994).

898 S.W.2d 742 (State v. Smith) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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