| THE CASE OF JOHN C. STABILE.. A Florida Victim Of The "Prison Releasee Reoffender" Law! |
| Man's criminal history equals greater sentence By KEN LEWIS Staff Writer.. - staff bio - send email AN EXAMPLE OF THIS LAW.. A 15-year prison sentence will be changed for a St. Augustine man convicted of manslaughter in 1997. In a rare twist, a court of appeal said the sentence should be greater. The criminal history of Fred Manning includes counts of burglary, grand theft, and most recently, robbery and manslaughter. He has been imprisoned four times in Florida since his first burglary conviction, as a 20-year-old, in 1989. His latest St. Johns County case is still bouncing back and forth between courts. Last week, the 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that Manning's sentence for robbery and manslaughter in 1997 should be increased to 229 months -- which was his original sentence. Circuit Judge Robert Mathis said Tuesday he will issue an order to reinstate the original sentence. He said Manning will not have to be present. Mathis said he has not seen the appellate court return many cases for greater sentences. "It doesn't happen very often," Mathis said. Manning, 33, now lives in the 1,132-bed Madison Correctional Institution in the Panhandle. He had been out of prison for about four months in December 1997 when he got in a fight near a West Augustine convenience store. At 5 feet, 10 inches and 145 pounds, the three-time felon might not have seemed threatening. But Manning knocked down a 27-year-old Miami man with a punch to the jaw. The man's head hit a curb, and he died hours later in the emergency room of Flagler Hospital. When St. Johns County sheriff's deputies arrested Manning in his mother's home, they also served him with a warrant for an earlier robbery on West King Street. He pleaded no contest to robbery and manslaughter in the St. Johns County Courthouse. He received 229 months as a "habitual felony offender" and "prisoner releasee reoffender." A "prison releasee reoffender" commits a crime within three years of being released from prison. He must then receive the maximum sentence allowed by the law, Mathis said. For a second-degree felony like manslaughter, that would be 15 years in prison. A "habitual felony offender" is, in part, someone who has been convicted of at least two felonies. He can receive a sentence that is up to twice the maximum -- or up to 30 years for manslaughter. The appellate court in Daytona Beach approved the original sentence in 1999, when Manning appealed. But he reappeared before Mathis after his failed appeal. Manning said his attorney forced him to plead no contest by telling him that if he didn't, his robbery and manslaughter sentences could run consecutively. His accusations against the attorney were discredited. But Mathis re-sentenced him solely as a "prisoner releasee reoffender," thinking that Manning could not be sentenced as a "habitual felony offender" as well. The state appealed. Assistant State Attorney Maureen Sullivan Christine could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. According to the appellate ruling, a convict can be sentenced as a "habitual felony offender" and as a "prisoner releasee reoffender," so long as the former status leads to a greater sentence. - The St. Augustine Record - The Judge was Powerless.. - The Case Stabile Files.. - A Petition Against Three Strikes.. |
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| After reading about John Stabile and his dreadful sentence of having to spend the rest of his natural life in prison for burglary, I have decided to set up a webpage for him and any other young victims of this cruel, and heinous fate! I am not saying burglary is not a felony..but it is not MURDER. It could LEAD to murder..but before that happens the person may do a radical turn-around and become a law abiding citizen! "Thanks, Diane, for letting me know about John and for being his number one supporter. You are a TRUE Mom!! Do not fear..you have many supporters! If you agree with this page feel free to update it. If not..I take full responsibility!! 8))" Cheers.. Ann Ezelius / Sweden 092503 11/23/03..A letter from Diane.. "Hi! How are you?. Have a great holiday!!! I thought the pages you put out for John were fantastic! BUT....HE WAS NOT ARRESTED ON THREE STRIKES! He was arrested on the PRR law! 'PRISONER RELEASEE REOFFENDER'...so now I am at square one again. Nobody is fighting to get rid of that law! I think it's over. He's gonna be doomed. Like he said, he will end his life before continuing to do life. So I do not know what to do with those great pages you made for him. PRR is widespread here in Florida and I believe it started in 1997.. Statute 775.082 is what it is. He thinks if he gets all the right paperwork from years ago that he can prove the dates or timing to be wrong. They will not say he is indigent. I just paid $75 for other papers! I thought every prisoner was indigent? This attorney here that we have crocks. He will not help him with this at all. Real scummy thing, huh? Well, I'm stuck now. If you hear anything else about PRR let me know please. Thank you. Diane" |
| JOHN C STABILE # 894926 |
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| Releasee reoffender gets 25 years: A Tallahassee man Thursday was sentenced to 25 years in prison following his conviction on charges that he struck the mother of his child several times across the face, State Attorney Willie Meggs said. Brian Baldwin, 29, had been out of prison and on probation for assault charges less than a month when he reportedly attacked the woman in January, records show. Baldwin was sentenced in Leon County felony court as a habitual felony offender and a prison releasee reoffender, Meggs said. 2nd District Court of Appeal Consecutive sentence under PRRA Because a five-year sentence coming only at the completion of a life sentence allows no opportunity for early release consideration, a defendant sentenced a prison releasee reoffender must be allowed to serve his non-life sentence first, the 2nd DCA held. Dwight Dubose received a life sentence for first-degree murder and, under the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act, a consecutive five-year prison term for attempted robbery. Dubose challenged the consecutive running of his five-year PRR sentence, and the DCA agreed. “As with a defendant who is given a habitual offender sentence, a defendant who is sentenced pursuant to the PRR statute is severely restricted in his opportunity to earn gain time or otherwise serve less than the entire sentence. In order to preserve entitlement to any possible early release that may apply to the non-PRR sentence, Dubose must be allowed to serve his PRR sentence first,” the DCA said. Assistant Attorney General Donna S. Koch represented the state on appeal. [Dubose v. State, 1/17/02] FaxMail opinion # 1040 (2 pages) - Link.. |