Corey v. State
| Decision Date | 31 January 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. A94A2088,A94A2088 |
| Citation | 216 Ga.App. 180,454 S.E.2d 154 |
| Parties | COREY v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Michael J. Corey, pro se.
T. Joseph Campbell, Dist. Atty., for appellee.
Michael J. Corey appeals from his sentence of life imprisonment for armed robbery.
In his sole enumeration of error, Corey contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to modify his sentence. Corey argues that OCGA § 16-8-41(b), under which he was sentenced, is unconstitutionally vague because it provides two maximum sentences, one of life imprisonment and another of 20 years. We disagree.
OCGA § 16-8-41(b) provides in pertinent part that "[a] person convicted of the offense of armed robbery shall be punished by death or imprisonment for life or by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than 20 years...." Although the statute allows the sentencing judge broad discretion, it does not provide two different maximum sentences and is not unconstitutionally vague. The courts of this state have consistently held that "[t]he maximum penalty upon conviction for armed robbery is life imprisonment." (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Getty v. State, 207 Ga.App. 736, 738, 429 S.E.2d 100 (1993). As an alternative to imposing this maximum sentence, under OCGA § 16-8-41(b), a court also has the discretion to impose a determinable sentence of any period of time between five and twenty years. See Thornton v. State, 226 Ga. 837(2), 178 S.E.2d 193 (1970).
Flagg v. State, 187 Ga.App. 297, 299(2), 370 S.E.2d 46 (1988). Since OCGA § 16-8-41(b) is clear in its provision for a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the trial court in this case is within that limit, we find no error.
Judgment affirmed.
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Ray v. State, A16A1091
...(Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Hudson v. State , 334 Ga.App. 166, 168 (2), 778 S.E.2d 406 (2015), quoting Corey v. State , 216 Ga.App. 180, 180–181, 454 S.E.2d 154 (1995).44 McKenzie v. State , 302 Ga.App. 538, 541 (2), 691 S.E.2d 352 (2010).45 (Punctuation and footnotes omitted.) Hump......
-
Nihart v. State
...one and twenty years. OCGA § 16-6-2(b). The trial court did not err in sentencing Nihart to life imprisonment. See Corey v. State, 216 Ga.App. 180, 181, 454 S.E.2d 154 (1995). Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in BIRDSONG, P.J., and HAROLD R. BANKE, Senior Appellate Judge, concur. 1 We......
-
Hudson v. State, A15A1687.
...to a term of years, which, compared to life imprisonment, is the lesser punishment.3As the trial court noted, in Corey v. State,216 Ga.App. 180, 454 S.E.2d 154 (1995), we rejected the argument that OCGA § 16–8–41(b)is unconstitutionally vague because it provides two maximum sentences, one o......
- Burns v. State, A94A1899