People v. Harris, 95CA1262
| Decision Date | 09 January 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 95CA1262,95CA1262 |
| Parties | 21 Colorado Journal 13 The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Christopher C. HARRIS, Defendant-Appellant. . V |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Gale A. Norton, Attorney General, Stephen K. ErkenBrack, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Timothy M. Tymkovich, Solicitor General, Peter J. Cannici, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
David F. Vela, State Public Defender, Kathleen A. Lord, Chief Appellate Deputy Public Defender, Denver, for Defendant-Appellant.
Opinion by Judge MARQUEZ.
Defendant, Christopher C. Harris, appeals an order of the sentencing court requiring that letters, a videotape, and photographs relating to the multiple murders for which he was convicted be kept in his prison cell at all times. We conclude the sentencing court lacked authority to impose such a condition of confinement and vacate the order.
In order to avoid a possible sentence of death, defendant pled guilty to two counts of first degree murder after deliberation, one count of attempted first degree murder after deliberation, and several other felony charges. The charges were brought against defendant for executing two people and seriously wounding a third person during an attempted aggravated robbery. Defendant was sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, a consecutive 48-year prison sentence, and a consecutive 16-year prison sentence.
At the sentencing hearing, a relative of one of the victims requested that pictures of the victims and videos of the crime be sent with defendant to prison in order to remind him of the impact of his crimes (the videotape was from a surveillance camera which had recorded the murders). The trial court accepted the suggestion and ordered that letters received by the court, the video, and pictures be placed in a packet that was to remain in defendant's prison cell always. The court included a written order to that same effect on the mittimus. On appeal of the sentences, defendant challenges only this special condition imposed by the court.
People v. Anaya, 894 P.2d 28, 31 (Colo.App.1994). The People concede the validity of this principle.
The applicable statutes authorizing the court to sentence defendant to the custody of the Department of Corrections (the Department) do not expressly authorize the court to dictate the conditions of confinement. See §§ 16-11-301 and 16-11-308, C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 8A); § 17-22.5-104(2)(d), C.R.S. (1996 Cum.Supp.); § 18-1-105, C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 8B); People v....
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People v. Barber, No. 02CA1005.
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People v. Snare, 97CA2083.
...C.R.S.1999 (probation department has jurisdiction over offenders sentenced directly to community corrections); People v. Harris, 934 P.2d 882 (Colo.App.1997) (sentence to probation keeps a defendant under the direct supervision of the sentencing court). Hence, a sentence to community correc......