State v. Atkisson

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The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s hard twenty-five life sentence specified by Jessica’s Law under Kan. Stat. Ann. 21-6627, holding that the district court abused its discretion by relying on factual determinations not properly established by an evidentiary record.This was Defendant’s second appeal from a denial of his motion for downward departure from his hard twenty-five life sentence. The district court here denied the motion after concluding that the asserted mitigating circumstances did not justify departure. The court based its reasoning in part on information gathered from a probable cause affidavit filed by the State with the initial complaint and from unsworn statements made by the victim’s family at sentencing. The Supreme Court vacated the sentence, holding that the district court abused its discretion by relying on factual determinations not properly established by an evidentiary record. View "State v. Atkisson" on Justia Law