ROBERT G. BISHOP, APPELLANT,
v.
RICHARD L. DUGGER, ET AL., APPELLEE
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Robert Bishop appealed the denial of provisional credits under Florida law, arguing he was entitled to such credits despite a kidnapping conviction. The court reversed, holding that because Bishop was charged with kidnapping with intent to commit either sexual battery or a lewd act (rather than sexual battery alone), he could not be denied provisional credits under the statutory exception for kidnapping committed with intent to commit sexual battery.
Bishop is entitled to provisional credits. The statutory exception denying provisional credits applies only to kidnappings committed with the sole intent to commit sexual battery. Because Bishop was charged disjunctively with intent to commit either sexual battery or a lewd act, the Department of Corrections cannot speculate which felony he intended to commit and thus cannot apply the statutory exception.
[1] A statute denying provisional credits to inmates convicted of kidnapping with intent to commit sexual battery does not apply when the charging information alleges kidnapp…
[2] A court cannot speculate about the intended felony when an information charges kidnapping with intent to commit multiple felonies, including sexual battery.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Is convicted, or has been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, or murder, and the offense was committed with the intent to commit sexual battery.”
The statutory exception to provisional credits that the Department of Corrections invoked against Bishop
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 1988, Bishop pled guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to forty years in prison. The information charged him with kidnapping a child under thirte…
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ERVIN, Judge.
Appellant, Robert Bishop, claims on appeal that he is entitled to earn provisional credits pursuant to Section 944.277, Florida Statutes (1989). We agree for the reason stated below that he is entitled to such credits, and reverse.
In 1988, Bishop pled guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to forty years in prison. In the information filed against him, the kidnapping charge stated in pertinent part that Bishop
did, in violation of Florida Statute 787.01, forcibly, secretly, or by threat confine, abduct, or imprison [name deleted], a child under the age of thirteen (13) years old, against her will and without lawful authority, with intent to commit or facilitate commission of a felony, to-wit: Sexual Battery or a Lewd Act.
(Emphasis added.)
Section 944.277, Florida Statutes (1989), authorizes provisional credits (formerly administrative gain time), except for inmates who fall within any of seven enumerated categories. Subsection (l)(e) thereof specifically denies provisional credits to an inmate who
Is convicted, or has been previously convicted, of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, or murder, and the offense was committed with the intent to commit sexual battery.
(Emphasis added.) We conclude that Bishop cannot be denied provisional credits pursuant to this subsection because he was charged in the disjunctive with kidnapping with intent to commit either sexual battery or a lewd act, rather than only with sexual battery.
Our conclusion is supported by this court’s decision in Cole v. Dugger, 543 So. 2d 1296 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989), in which the defendant sought to compel the Department of Corrections (DOC) to grant him administrative gain time pursuant to Section 944.276, Florida Statutes (1987), which was repealed and replaced by section 944.-277 in 1988. Among other things, the DOC argued that Cole’s kidnapping charge could be construed as including the “intent to commit sexual battery,” and was thus subject to the exception in section 944.276(l)(c), for persons convicted of sexual battery. In rejecting this argument, the court quoted the information as charging appellant with kidnapping with the intent to commit “robbery, sexual battery or murder, or with the intent to inflict bodily harm upon or to terrorize.” Id. at 1297. Because Cole was charged with possessing the intent to commit numerous different felonies other than sexual battery, the court stated that in order to find ineligibility for administrative gain time under section 944.276(l)(c), “[W]e would have to speculate that the felony appellant intended to commit or facilitate was that of sexual battery rather than one of the others mentioned in the information. This we are not permitted to do.” Id.
The information in the case at bar suffers from the same defect. Because the information specifically charged Bishop with kidnapping with intent to commit sexual battery or a lewd act, and section 944.-277(l)(e) denies provisional credits to an inmate convicted of kidnapping with the intent to commit only sexual battery, Bishop cannot be denied provisional credits under that statute, because, to paraphrase the language of Cole, DOC would be required to speculate that the felony Bishop intended to commit was sexual battery.
The trial court’s order denying appellant’s petition for writ of mandamus is REVERSED and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
WIGGINTON, J., and CAWTHON, Senior Judge, concur.
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Dugger v. Wiley Jerome Grant, 587 So. 2d 608 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…ons and did not create any substantive rights in an inmate. While, based on Dugger v. Rodrick, it would appear that an inmate has limited rights, the D.O.C. must still administer the statute in accordance with statutory guidelines. Bishop v. Dugger, 582 So. 2d 33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Mayo v. Dugger, 535 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). Under the statute, an inmate may only be denied provisional credits if there is some evidence that the inmate has been found to have fallen into one of the statutory categories…
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