CHRISTOPHER G. WALKER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a sentence for a life felony conviction, when opting for a term of years instead of life imprisonment, cannot exceed forty years.
Christopher Walker was convicted of attempted premeditated murder with a firearm and attempted robbery with a firearm. The trial court sentenced him t…
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RYDER, Acting Chief Judge.
A jury convicted Christopher Walker of attempted premeditated murder with a firearm and attempted robbery with a firearm. As his sole point on appeal, Walker challenges his sentence of sixty years’ imprisonment for attempted murder. Walker argues that, under section 775.082(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1991), the trial court could not impose a sentence exceeding forty years’ imprisonment. We agree and reverse.
Premeditated murder is capital felony. § 782.04(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1991). Attempted premeditated murder is a first degree felony that is reclassified to a life felony when the defendant carries a firearm. §§ 775.087(l)(a), 777.04(4)(a), Fla.Stat. (1991); Strickland v. State, 437 So. 2d 150, 151 (Fla.1983); Williams v. State, 407 So. 2d 223, 224-225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). A person convicted of a life felony may be punished “by a term of imprisonment for life or by a term of imprisonment not exceeding forty years.” § 775.082(3)(a), Fla.Stat. (1991).
The amended information referenced a life felony, and charged Walker with attempted premeditated murder, “by shooting at [the victim] with a firearm.” The jury found Walker guilty as charged and also specifically found that he had used a firearm. The amended information and the verdict form establish that Walker was charged with and convicted of a life felony. Whenever a court sentences a defendant for a life felony, and opts for a term of years instead of life imprisonment, it may impose a sentence no harsher than forty years’ imprisonment. Greenhalgh v. State, 582 So. 2d 107, 108 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991), citing Blackshear v. State, 480 So. 2d 207 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Walker’s sixty-year sentence exceeds the statutory limit. We reverse the sentence and remand to the trial court with directions to sentence Walker to a term of imprisonment not exceeding forty years for the attempted murder conviction.
Reversed and remanded.
PARKER and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.
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Moye v. State, 683 So. 2d 624 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)…ith and found guilty of perpetrating the crime with the use of a gun, the trial court was required by the language of section 775.087, Florida Statutes (1993), to reclassify this conviction of a first degree felony to a life felony. Walker v. State, 639 So. 2d 1030 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). Reclassification is mandatory. See Kio v. State, 624 So. 2d 744 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993), rev. denied, 634 So. 2d 627 (Fla.1994). Reclassification of the conviction for first degree attempted murder with a firearm to a life felony do…
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Walker v. State, 715 So. 2d 1065 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)…crime, attempted felony murder. Because Walker’s judgment became final before the supreme court determined that the crime of attempted felony murder did not in fact exist, he is not entitled to relief and this court must affirm. In Walker v. State, 639 So. 2d 1030 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994), this court affirmed Walker’s convictions but reversed for resentencing. His judgment became final upon the issuance of this court’s mandate affirming his convictions on August 1, 1994, before the decision in State v. Gray, 654 So…
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Williams v. State, 676 So. 2d 1056 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)…or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 40 years.” Where “a court sentences a defendant for a life felony and opts for a term of years instead of a life sentence, it may impose a sentence no harsher than forty years’ imprisonment.” Walker v. State, 639 So. 2d 1030 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). The appellant’s sentence of forty years plus five years of probation exceeds the legal maximum. Accordingly, the sentence is vacated and the matter is remanded for resentencing.…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Strickland v. State, 437 So. 2d 150 (Fla. 1983)
- Greenhalgh v. State, 582 So. 2d 107 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
- Williams v. State, 407 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- Blackshear v. State, 480 So. 2d 207 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)