UNDULY HARSH AND SEVERE SENTENCE OF PERSISTENT VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER (FOURTH DEPT).
The Fourth Department determined defendant’s sentence was unduly harsh and severe. The defendant, a persistent violent felony offender, was convicted of criminal possession of a weapon and sentenced to 25 years to life:
The judgment convicted defendant, upon a jury verdict, of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. * * *
… [T]he sentence imposed, an indeterminate term of imprisonment of 25 years to life as a persistent violent felony offender, is unduly harsh and severe. Defendant did not fire or even directly possess the weapon, and there is no evidence that he knew that his codefendant intended to use it unlawfully. Although defendant has multiple prior felony convictions, several of which are for weapon offenses, he has no history of violence on his record, and his conduct in this case does not in our view warrant the maximum sentence permitted by law. We therefore modify the judgment as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice by reducing the sentence to an indeterminate term of imprisonment of 16 years to life … . People v Ray, 2018 NY Slip Op 01796, Fourth Dept 3-16-18
CRIMINAL LAW (UNDULY HARSH AND SEVERE SENTENCE OF PERSISTENT VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER (FOURTH DEPT))/SENTENCING (CRIMINAL LAW, UNDULY HARSH AND SEVERE SENTENCE OF PERSISTENT VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER (FOURTH DEPT))/HARSH AND SEVERE SENTENCE (UNDULY HARSH AND SEVERE SENTENCE OF PERSISTENT VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER (FOURTH DEPT))/SENTENCING (CRIMINAL LAW, UNDULY HARSH AND SEVERE SENTENCE OF PERSISTENT VIOLENT FELONY OFFENDER (FOURTH DEPT))