Victim Statements Archives

F-2006-905

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 10, 2008
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2006-905, Curtis Dale Gibson appealed his conviction for First Degree Rape, After Former Conviction of Two Felonies. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the judgment of conviction but vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. One judge dissented. Gibson was tried by a jury in Jackson County and found guilty of raping a victim. The jury sentenced him to thirty years in prison. Gibson raised several issues in his appeal, including whether he received a fair trial, due to certain evidence being allowed and comments made by the prosecutor. He also argued that he should have received an instruction about parole eligibility and that his prior suspended sentence for another crime should not have been discussed during the trial. The court looked at each point raised by Gibson. It found that the statements from the victim's sister, which claimed she had also been a victim of Gibson, were not hearsay and were admitted correctly. The prosecutor's comments during the trial were not seen as causing enough harm to reverse the decision. However, the court agreed that the jury should have been informed about the 85% rule regarding when Gibson could be eligible for parole, which was considered a mistake. As a result, the court affirmed Gibson's guilty verdict but changed his sentence, ordering that he be resentenced on account of this issue. The judges involved reached various conclusions, with one judge expressing disagreement with the decision to remand for resentencing.

F-2004-433

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 15, 2005
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2004-433, the appellant appealed his conviction for Conjoint Robbery and Possession of a Stolen Vehicle. In a published decision, the court decided to modify the sentence for the robbery charge but affirmed the sentence for the stolen vehicle charge. One judge dissented. The case began when the appellant was charged with possessing a stolen vehicle and leaving an accident scene in 2001. Later, he faced a charge for Conjoint Robbery. He initially pleaded no contest to the stolen vehicle charges, which led to a delayed sentencing while he was to complete a rehabilitation program. However, he could not participate in this program due to the new robbery charge. The appellant pleaded no contest to the robbery charge, resulting in concurrent five-year deferred sentences. In 2004, he was accused of a new crime involving a firearm, leading the state to file an application to accelerate his sentences from the previous cases. After entering a stipulation to the violations, he received a five-year sentence for the firearm charge and additional sentences for the previous offenses. On appeal, the appellant argued that his sentences were excessive. While the court upheld the sentences for the stolen vehicle charge, it acknowledged that the sentence for the robbery was too harsh given the circumstances. Therefore, the sentence for the robbery was modified to ten years with five years suspended. The court found that, overall, the sentences were within the legal limits but decided the particular facts called for a reduction in the robbery sentence.