NCJ Number
156477
Journal
Maryland Law Review Volume: 54 Issue: 3 Dated: (1995) Pages: 748-761
Date Published
1995
Length
14 pages
Annotation
In Thomas v. State, a domestic assault case, the Maryland Court of Appeals created a complex, convoluted, and inappropriate proportionality analysis in considering whether a 20-year sentence for a slap to the face and a 30- year sentence for repeated blows with a steam iron represented cruel and unusual punishment and whether they violated Maryland common law.
Abstract
The court held that the 20-year sentence was grossly disproportionate and therefore unconstitutional, but the 30- year sentence did not violate either the Eighth Amendment or Article 25 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. In view of Proportionality decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, Maryland case law, and the holdings of Simms v. State and subsequent cases, the majority's decision appears to stand on shaky legal precedence. Moreover, the court incorrectly applied the Supreme Court's limited proportionality analysis. A more soundly reasoned opinion would have avoided a decision based solely on constitutional grounds and simply extended the court's holding in Simms v. State. Footnotes