VERNON LEE PETERS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the sentences imposed for second degree murder with a deadly weapon exceeded the statutory maximum and were therefore illegal.
The appellant pled guilty to two counts of second degree murder with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of fifty years in priso…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Life Felony cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The appellant, Vernon Lee Peters, challenges the trial court’s judgments and sentences for two counts of second degree murder with a deadly weapon. We affirm the convictions, however, we reverse the sentences because they exceed the statutory maximum.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, the appellant pled guilty to two reduced charges of second degree murder with a deadly weapon, in violation of section 782.04, Florida Statutes (1985). The appellant was subsequently adjudicated guilty and sentenced according to the terms of the plea agreement to two concurrent terms of fifty years in prison. This timely appeal followed.
We agree with the appellant’s contention that the sentences imposed were illegal. Second degree murder with a deadly weapon is a life felony. §§ 775.087(l)(a), 782.04(2), Fla.Stat. (1985). A life felony committed af ter October 1, 1983, is punishable by life imprisonment or by a term of imprisonment not to exceed forty years. § 775.082(3)(a), Fla.Stat. (1985). Therefore, whenever a court sentencing a life felony opts for a term of years in lieu of a life sentence, that court is limited to a sentence no harsher than forty years. Greenhalgh v. State, 582 So. 2d 107 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991).
In the instant ease, since the concurrent fifty year prison terms imposed by the trial court exceed the statutory forty year maximum, the sentences are illegal. On remand, the state should be given the option of proceeding to trial on the original charges or agreeing to a sentence, with the trial court’s concurrence, within the forty year statutory maximum. Cayson v. State, 638 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). See also Clemons v. State, 629 So. 2d 1067 (Fla. 2d DCA), rev. denied, 639 So. 2d 976 (Fla.1994).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with instructions.
SCHOONOVER, A.C.J., and PATTERSON and LAZZARA, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Peters v. State, 128 So. 3d 832 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…felonies, on the other hand, are controlled by a separate set of rules. A life felony committed between October 1, 1983, and July 1, 1995,9 “is punishable by life imprisonment or by a term of imprisonment not to exceed foriy years.” Peters v. State, 658 So. 2d 1175, 1175-76 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (citation omitted) (emphasis added); § 775.082(3)(a), Fla. Stat. (1989). Therefore, within this time period, “whenever a court sentencing a life felony opts for a term of years in lieu of a life sentence, that court is li…
-
Young v. State, 716 So. 2d 280 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)…-degree murder with a firearm (or weapon) constitutes a life felony. See §§ 775.087(l)(a), 782.04(2) and (3), Fla. Stat. (1989); Guerra v. State, 695 So. 2d 849 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); Munro v. State, 662 So. 2d 1345 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Peters v. State, 658 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). Provided the charging instrument which we do not have in our record properly charged the firearm or weapon, the judgment in this ease mistakenly concludes that this homicide is a first-degree felony punishable by life. Young’s c…
Authorities Cited
- Greenhalgh v. State, 582 So. 2d 107 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
- Clemons v. State, 629 So. 2d 1067 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)
- Cayson v. State, 638 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)