RE-2008-1001
In OCCA case No. RE-2008-1001, Sedrick Moltke Frierson appealed his conviction for the revocation of his suspended sentences. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the revocation of six and one-half years of his nine and one-half year suspended sentences. One judge dissented. The case began when Appellant entered a guilty plea for delivering controlled substances and was given a suspended sentence in 2007. This meant he wouldn’t have to serve time in prison right away, but he had to follow certain rules. Unfortunately, he broke those rules by using drugs, committing more crimes, and not paying required fees or attending counseling. The state of Oklahoma requested that his suspended sentences be revoked because he didn’t follow the conditions of his probation. A hearing was held to look into this matter, and the judge decided that Appellant had indeed breached his probation conditions. So, he decided to revoke a big portion of Appellant's suspended sentence. Appellant raised two main points in his appeal. He argued the judge's decision was not fair and that it didn’t help him get better. He also claimed some costs should be removed from the written order, saying they were not part of the original agreement. The court explained that when reviewing a revocation, they could only look at whether probation rules were broken and decide on the sentence. The judge’s original decision to revoke the sentence was affirmed because the Appellant had indeed violated the terms of his probation. However, the court agreed that there was a mistake about some of the conditions in the written order regarding supervision. They said that the written order needed to be updated to reflect that Appellant’s remaining term of supervision should not require him to have any supervision, as the original ruling suggested. Overall, while the revocation was upheld, it was determined that the written decision needed to change to make sure there was clarity about the conditions of the remaining term.