Stu Dent v. State Sentencing Proposal

The sentencing stage is the last part of the criminal trial. In the Stu Dent v. State case the outcome of the sentencing can very from charge to charge. The prosecution and Defense attorneys have rested their cases and the decision has been made in this case. The judge now take the arguments in to consideration and pass down a judgment on the sentence the defendant will face. The defendant is charged with Homicide, kidnapping, burglary, assault of a police officer, and possession of drugs. The facts that lead to homicide are Uma Opee was stabbed 13 times and the skin particles under the victim’s nails matched the DNA to Stu Dents. The facts leading to the assault on a police officer comes when he punched Officer T. Chur in the face and yelled "Alien". Kidnapping comes from the fact that Mr. Dents used rope to tie the victim and he stuffed her mouth with cloth. Burglary charges are result of Mr. Dents entering the victim’s apartment without permission to be there and having the intent to commit a crime within that residence. Mr. Dents is also charged with possession of drugs because in his house was drugs that were found, the same drug ecstasy with the "thumbs-up" imprint found at the victim's apartment. In the State v. Stu Dent case the charge of Homicide carries the most weight of any of the charges. Mr. Dents is charged with Murder due the fact that the victim was stabbed 13 times and evidence supported the fact that Mr. Dent was guilty of such crime. Mr. Dent showed no regard for human life in his horrendous act of killing another person. The sentence that Mr. Dent should receive should be the maximum allowed by law. The main evidence is placing the victim in the same area as the defendant. The Ring found in the defendants home, which with the victim at the time of the murder as reported by the victim’s co workers places the victim at the defendants apartments after work or either the defendant retrieved it from the victims body at some point. The other facts related to this case are that the victim had the killer DNA under her fingernails, which identified Mr. Dent as the attacker. Mr. Dent’s crime of murder should be consider a capital offense due to the fact that, Murder by the defendant during a kidnapping in the first degree or an attempt thereof committed by the defendant. We propose under law that Mr. Dent be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In the State vs Stu Dents case the burglary charge must be prosecuted to the maximum. There are possibilities and witness of the residential burglary before and after the time of the murder. Police investigation and confiscation of the evidence shows possession of the stolen merchandise. The ring of the victim along with jewelry shows a lack of remorse and a form of retribution towards the victim’s new life change to become drug free. As the boyfriend of the victim, Dents should be sent to anger management classes for the domestic abuse leading to the violent act of murder. Dent’s lack of control shows neglect and a reckless avoidance of the welfare of his girlfriend. The drugs found in the residence of Dents should lead to alternative sanctions of drug treatment programs similar to the one the victim attended to before she was killed. Drug court should be a mandatory alternative sanction if the other charges are not proven in the court of law. The amount of drugs found in the home should be noted and taken into account to the cause of the burglary and murder. Dents punishment for his drug addiction should not be seen as an mental illness. Mental illness caused by drugs has been a defense in appeals and other cases involving the death of victims. Restitution should be sentenced for the victims close family to compensate for the loss of the family member. The desired outcome of the punishment should be of incapacitation and rehabilitation if dents becomes eligible for parole later in life. This punishment will give the state and the family the opportunity to assess Dent’s mental stability and if he becomes subject to more drug use later on in life, it should be a mandatory 20 year sentence when an another crime is committed by dents under the influence of drugs. The burglary should be a Class B Felony and the sentence should run consecutive with the other charges in the case.

Kidnapping can vary in the way the kidnapping has occurred. When a kidnapping occurs then the family needs to report it as soon as it happens. If a family member does not report the crime then when the person is caught would only be guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. Kidnapping in Virginia is when a person intends to deprive such person of his personal liberty, or to withhold them and force them to do services. Kidnapping is a class 5 felony. In less a family member or a parent does it then it is a class one misdemeanor. If a parent does the action and that parent removes them from the state of VA then it becomes a class 5 felony. If a person was abducted to extort money or a child was abducted to go into prostitution then it would be class 2 felonies. If a person even threatens about kidnapping a person to extort money or a child under 16 to be placed in prostitution it would be considered a class 5 felony. With a class 2 felony the person would get prison for life or anything over twenty years, and a fine not more then 100,000.00. Class 5 felony would be prison between 1 and 10 years, and a fine up to 2,500.00. Punishment for a class one misdemeanor is jail up to twelve months, and a fine up to 2,500.00. Class two misdemeanors are jail time up to six months, and a fine up to 1,000.00. If someone else kidnaps a person that person should get life in prison no matter what. We would hope that the outcome of the case that the kidnapper pays for their crime and that the victim is returned home safely. One outcome is when the person spends life in prison for their crime. The second outcome would be that the kidnapper only gets ten years behind bars for the crime they committed.

As for the crime of assault of a police officer the defendant, Stu Dent actually punched the officer T. Chur. In majority of states the maximum sentence for assaulting a police officer is 10 years. Because of the actually physical contact the defendant made with the officer. Mr. Dent should be also sentenced to 3 to 5 years for this crime. The possession of drug charges stem from the search conducted of Stu Dents apartment, law enforcement officers found ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The same drug of ecstasy was found in the defendant’s home matched the drugs that were found in the victim’s home. These drugs are categorized under Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV. Mr. Dent should receive a felony drug charges ranging from 3 to 5 years for his possession of these drugs.
In conclusion, the evidence provide to the court proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Stu Dents is guilty of the crimes he was charged with. Mr. Dent has no regard for human life, or the property of another person. Mr. Dent was a drug user and has violent temper, which resulted in the assault of a police officer. Mr. Dent should receive the maximum sentence that is available by law for the crimes he committed. Mr. Dent’s action qualifies to be a capital offense and he is a danger to society. Mr. Dent’s actions speak for what kind of person he is and what is capable of doing to the public.

Reference

Virginia Decoded. (2013). Retrieved from http://vacode.org/18.2-47/

2010 Arkansas Code, Title 5 - Criminal Offenses, Subtitle 4 - Offenses against Property

Chapter 39 - Burglary, Trespass, and Other Intrusions, Subchapter 2 - Offenses Generally, § 5-39-201 - Residential burglary -- Commercial burglary.

Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia, titled “Crimes and Offenses Generally,” Chapter 4 of the Code of Virginia, titled “Crimes Against the Person,” Abduction and Kidnapping defined; punishment § 18.2-47

Schmalleger, F., Hall, D. E., & Dolatowski, J.J. (2010). Criminal law today: An introduction with capstone cases. (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

State Code of Alabama. Retrieved from
http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/codeofalabama/1975/coatoc.htm