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State v. Morrow9/18/2001
ng. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-115(a) (1997). One statutory basis upon which to impose consecutive sentencing is that the defendant "is a dangerous offender whose behavior indicates little or no regard for human life, and no hesitation about committing a crime in which the risk to human life is high." Id. § 40-35-115(b)(4). To support consecutive sentencing of a "dangerous" offender, the evidence must demonstrate that the "terms imposed are reasonably related to the severity of the offenses committed and are necessary in order to protect the public from further criminal acts by the offender." State v. Wilkerson, 905 S.W.2d 933, 938 (Tenn. 1995).
The trial court in this case pointed to how the defendant had brutalized the victim; indeed, the trial court noted for the record that it had "never seen a more horrendous crime outside of a homicide" than what happened in this case. The trial court also relied on the defendant's indifference to the contagious and lethal nature of his disease. See Pamela Denise Wiser, slip op. at 10 (trial court correctly found that defendant was dangerous based on proof that defendant repeatedly exhibited reckless indifference about the contagious nature of her disease and the potential for death that existed). We share the trial court's opinion that the horrendous circumstances of the offenses reflect no appreciation or respect whatsoever for the value of life and no impulse control even when the risk to human life is high.
As for Wilkerson's requirement of necessity to protect the public, nothing in the record refutes the need for an extended sentence of incarceration. Favorable factors, such as a defendant's youthfulness, lack of criminal record, or potential for rehabilitation, are not present. See Tadaryl Darnell Shipp, No. 03C01-9907-CR-00312, slip op. at 5 (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, Mar. 21, 2000) (noting these favorable factors). The defendant was 35 years old at the time of the offenses, and this case was not the first time that he had kidnapped and abused a female. He already had a criminal record for kidnapping and assaulting a military servicewoman. Finally, as in Tadaryl Darnell Shipp, "the circumstances of the offenses are so egregious that they not only serve to identify [the defendant] as a dangerous offender, but they also inform the inquiry into whether the extended sentence is necessary in order to protect the public." Id., slip op. at 5 (emphasis added). Consecutive sentencing is eminently appropriate in this case. Such sentencing is reasonably related to the seriousness of the offenses and is necessary to safeguard the public.
From our review of the length of the defendant's sentences and the consecutive service ordered, we affirm the final judgments and sentences imposed.
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