JOHNNY LEE WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that adding points for victim injury in a homicide case is a proper mathematical calculation under the sentencing guidelines and not an unlawful enhancement.
Appellant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and manslaughter and elected to be sentenced under new guidelines. The trial court added points for v…
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ORFINGER, Judge.
This is another appeal from a guidelines sentence. We affirm.
Appellant Johnny Lee Williams was charged by a two-count indictment with first degree murder and killing of an unborn child by injury to the mother. The appellant pled guilty to second degree murder and manslaughter, lesser included offenses, and elected to be sentenced under the new sentencing guidelines.
Appellant contends that because the crimes to which he pleaded both involve death of the respective victims, the trial court erred in adding to his point score any points for “victim injury,” because in so doing the court improperly aggravated his score by a factor inherent in the respective crimes.
While it is true that the Sentencing Guidelines Commission could have constructed the point scoring system for a homicide conviction in such manner as to include victim injury within the scope of the crime itself, it clearly chose not to do so. This concept is indicated by the scale of points listed for Category 1, Homicide, in Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.988, as well as in Rule 3.701(d)(7) which provides that victim injury shall not be scored if not a factor of an offense at conviction. Since the same chart would be used for an attempted homicide where there could be any degree of victim injury from none to severe, but not death, the intent of the commission to separately add points for victim injury becomes clear. We hold that adding points for victim injury (death) in a homicide case is not an unlawful “doubling” or enhancement but is a product of a mathematical calculation by which the initial offense is scored at a proportionately lower rate so that victim injury may be added where appropriate, in arriving at a total point score. Since the trial court properly included points for victim injury in the two homicides, there was no error in the sentences. Accordingly, the sentences are
AFFIRMED.
COBB, C.J., and FRANK D. UP-CHURCH, Jr., J., concur.
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Davis v. State, 458 So. 2d 42 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)…e for the reasons set forth therein. Lindsey v. State, 453 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). In Mischler we discussed the third basis for aggravation, that is, great physical distress and emotional trauma and we approve it here. See Williams v. State, 454 So. 2d 790 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Green v. State, 455 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Williams v. State, 454 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). The defense argues that armed robbery by its very definition cannot help but induce trauma. This argument troubles us, but…
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Mischler v. State, 458 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)…Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Young v. State, 455 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Kiser v. State, 455 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Burke v. State, 456 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Jean v. State, 455 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). . Williams v. State, 454 So. 2d 790 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Green v. State, 455 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Williams v. State, 454 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). . Garcia v. State, 454 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). . The lone exception appears in the case of Garcia v. State, 454…1 / 2
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