State v. Dingle

• Decision Date: 27 February 2008
• Docket Number: No. 26444.,26444.
• Citation: 659 S.E.2d 101,376 S.C. 643
• Parties: The STATE, Respondent, v. Ronald Donald DINGLE, Appellant.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

659 S.E.2d 101

376 S.C. 643

The STATE, Respondent, v. Ronald Donald DINGLE, Appellant.

No. 26444.

Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Heard October 30, 2007.

Filed February 27, 2008.

Rehearing Denied April 16, 2008.

Appeal From Sumter County; Howard P. King, Circuit Court Judge.

Tara Shurling, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Cecil Kelly Jackson, of Sumter, for Respondent.

Justice BEATTY:

Ronald Donald Dingle appeals from the circuit court's order resentencing him instead of granting him a new trial upon remand by the post-conviction relief (PCR) court. We affirm as modified.

FACTS

On December 22, 1992, seventeen-year-old Dingle was charged in Sumter County with murder, first-degree burglary, assault and battery with intent to kill (ABIK), two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, two counts of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, pointing a firearm, first-degree burglary, and kidnapping. While out on bond in June 1993, Dingle was arrested in Lee County and charged with trafficking in crack cocaine. Dingle pled guilty to the Lee County offense in September 1993 and was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a $25,000 fine. Dingle later became concerned about the potential effect of his Lee County conviction on his eligibility for parole, and he filed an application for PCR. The PCR court dismissed the matter without prejudice, noting that the court handling the Sumter County charges would be better able to deal with the matter.

In April 1995, Dingle entered a negotiated plea of guilty to the Sumter County charges. The State informed the plea court that in exchange for the plea, Dingle would not be exposed to the death penalty and would still be eligible for parole. The plea court sentenced Dingle on the Sumter County charges to consecutive terms of: life imprisonment on each of the murder and first-degree burglary charges; twenty years imprisonment for ABIK; five years for each count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime; ten years for each count of possession of a sawed-off shotgun; and five years for pointing a firearm. Further, as part of the negotiated plea and to avoid ineligibility for parole for a subsequent conviction,¹ Dingle's prior conviction and sentence on his Lee County trafficking in crack cocaine charge were vacated, he pled guilty again, and he was resentenced at the same time as his plea to the Sumter County charges. He was sentenced to a concurrent term of three years and a fine of $25,000. The plea judge placed on the record the fact that the Lee County plea was part of the same sentencing proceeding as the Sumter County plea. Throughout the sentencing hearing, the parties and the plea judge all indicated their intent that Dingle would be eligible for parole after serving thirty years of his life sentence.

In 1996, Dingle learned that he would not be eligible for parole because the Sumter County sentences were consecutive, and he filed another application for PCR. After a hearing, the PCR court issued an order in December 1997 finding Dingle pled guilty pursuant to assurances by his counsel and by the Sumter County plea court that he would be eligible for parole after thirty years. The PCR court vacated the Sumter County sentences and remanded the matter to the circuit court "for sentencing consistent with the intent of the plea agreement or for a new trial." The Lee County plea and sentence were not addressed in the order.

Dingle's case was not called for trial for several years, and he filed a motion for a speedy trial in 2004. Representatives from the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services were present at the hearing. Dingle testified that: he wanted a new trial; it was his decision to make; he understood that he could face a punishment of life without the possibility of parole if he were convicted; he would not be eligible for parole anyway upon resentencing; and he did not get the benefit of his bargain when the death penalty, a major motivator in his plea decision, was later ruled unconstitutional for minors. The State indicated it would nolle pros the two gun charges that could potentially interfere with parole eligibility so that Dingle could be eligible for parole after thirty years.²

The circuit court denied Dingle's motion for a new trial. The court interpreted the PCR court's order as holding that Dingle was to be "sent back for resentencing in accordance with the agreement and if the State is not willing to do that then he would be entitled to a new trial." Despite Dingle's arguments that he would not be eligible for parole if he were just resentenced because the new sentencing date would constitute a "subsequent offense," the court found Dingle could get the benefit of the plea bargain and it ordered the parole board to "compute Dingle's eligibility for parole on the murder conviction as if these other convictions were either concurrent or not on his record." Finally, the court disagreed with Dingle's argument that he was entitled to a new trial because the major motivating factor to plead guilty was to avoid the death penalty, and it was later outlawed for minors pursuant to Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 125 S.Ct. 1183, 161 L.Ed.2d 1 (2005). The court reimposed the original sentences given to Dingle on the Sumter County charges, but the sentences were to run concurrently instead of consecutively. Dingle's motion to alter or amend the judgment was denied, and he appeals.

DISCUSSION

Dingle argues the circuit court abused its discretion by not allowing him to withdraw his guilty pleas and have a new trial because: (1) resentencing him on the Sumter County convictions would amount to a "subsequent conviction" such that he would be ineligible for parole anyway; and (2) it was his choice as to whether he was resentenced or entitled to a new trial, especially in light of the fact that he no longer had the full benefit of the original bargain because the death penalty was later found to be unconstitutional for minors. We disagree.

In his first argument, Dingle focuses on the language "second or subsequent conviction" in the statute to argue that resentencing him on the Sumter County charges would trigger the no-parole clause in the statute. As will be further discussed, Dingle has misinterpreted the statute.

Parole is a privilege, not a matter of right. Sullivan v. South Carolina Dep't of Corr., 355 S.C. 437, 443 n. 4, 586 S.E.2d 124, 127 n. 4 (2003). Although a court's final judgment in a criminal case is the pronouncement of the sentence, the parole board has the sole authority to determine parole eligibility separate and apart from the court's authority to sentence a defendant. State v. McKay, 300 S.C. 113, 115, 386 S.E.2d 623 623-24 (1989). However, the court may order the parole board to structure a sentence in such a way as to carry out the intent of the parties. Tilley v. State, 334 S.C. 24, 28-29, 511 S.E.2d 689, 692 (1999) (ordering the parole board to consider the five-year mandatory term for possession of a firearm as being served first such that the prisoner would be considered eligible for parole as the parties had intended).

This Court has the authority to interpret the parole statute. In interpreting statutes, the Court looks to the plain meaning of the statute and the intent of the Legislature. Hinton v. South Carolina Dep't of Prob., Parole, & Pardon Servs., 357 S.C. 327, 332, 592 S.E.2d 335, 338 (Ct.App.2004). As with any statute that is penal in nature, the Court must construe it strictly in favor of the defendant and against the State. Hair v. State, 305 S.C. 77, 79, 406 S.E.2d 332, 334 (1991) (construing in favor of the defendant the different time frames for parole eligibility found in the general parole statute and in a statute regarding parole eligibility for burglary). The relevant portion of the parole statute provides: "The board must not grant parole nor is parole authorized to any prisoner serving a sentence for a second or subsequent conviction, following a separate sentencing for a prior conviction, for violent crimes as defined in Section 16-1-60." S.C.Code Ann. § 24-21-640 (2007).

A clear reading of the underlying statute is that in order to trigger the no-parole language, a defendant must not only have a separate sentencing hearing, but he or she must also have a separate conviction. Dingle entered his pleas to both the Sumter County and Lee County charges in the same proceeding, and only his...