Revised sentencing statute not applicable to defendant, COA holds

Because a man committed his crime in 1999, well before the effective date of the new Indiana criminal code, the new sentencing statute does not apply to him, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.

When the criminal code overhaul took effect July 1, 2014, I.C. 35-38-1-17 was amended to no longer require prosecutorial approval to modify someone’s sentence. Floyd Carr was sentenced in 2000 to 55 years for murder. On July 14, 2014, he sought to reduce or suspend his remaining sentence under this new statute. The trial court denied his motion, indicating that modification of Carr’s sentence still required approval of the prosecuting attorney.

The COA, in Floyd Carr v. State of Indiana, 45A04-1409-CR-456, said that the 2014 law does not apply in this case because the General Assembly also passed a law that said the new criminal code is not retroactive and does not apply to penalties, crimes or proceedings that occurred or began prior to July 1, 2014.

A split panel of the COA ruled in April that a man sentenced in 2006 could apply for modification under the 2014 statute, but other panels have held in Bruce Schaadt v. State of Indiana,  Mitchell Swallows v. State of Indiana, and Samuel L. Hobbs Jr. v. State of Indiana, that the new statute is inapplicable to those who committed their crimes or were sentenced prior to July 1, 2014.