DERRICK L. LOWE
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 6th DCA | 2026-05-29
No. 2025-0755
Pincket, J., Stargel, J., Mize, J., Brownlee, J.
2026 FL 6490 Florida District Court of Appeal, Sixth District (2026)

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.


Holding

A sentence of life imprisonment is sufficiently definite and requires the defendant to remain in prison for the rest of his life.


Headnotes

[1] A sentence of life imprisonment is sufficiently definite under law and requires the defendant to remain incarcerated for the remainder of his natural life.

Previewing 1 of 1 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

Key Quotes

“[T]he Legislature, by prescribing a sentence of life imprisonment, intends that the defendant remain in prison for the rest of his life. The term 'life' is sufficiently definite so that it can be understood and applied.”

Court's citation to Ratliff v. State in support of affirming the life sentence

Facts & Procedural History

Derrick L. Lowe was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a criminal case in Polk County Circuit Court.…

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.

Opinion of the Court

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF FLORIDA

Case No. 6D2025-0755 Lower Tribunal No. 1997-CF-001109

DERRICK L. LOWE, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Polk County. Michelle O. Pincket, Judge.

May 29, 2026

PER CURIAM.

AFFIRMED. See Ratliff v. State, 914 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 2005) (“[T]he Legislature, by prescribing a sentence of life imprisonment, intends that the defendant remain in prison for the rest of his life. The term 'life' is sufficiently definite so that it can be understood and applied.").

STARGEL, MIZE and BROWNLEE, JJ., concur.

Derrick L. Lowe, Bushnell, pro se.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Marilyn Frances Muir, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw