By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//February 2, 2015//
U.S. Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Criminal
Sentencing – Reasonableness
It was not unreasonable for the district court to impose a sentence for escape that was consecutive to the sentence for the underlying crime.
“Conley is in effect arguing for a ‘freebie.’ Because the maximum term allowed for escape falls far short of Conley’s bank robbery sentence, the imposition of a concurrent sentence would negate virtually all punitive force of a sentence for escape. With nothing to lose, that result would encourage defendants who face lengthy prison sentences to attempt escape. This is particularly true if, like Conley, they have already maxed out at criminal history category VI, or are already classified as career offenders. We cannot countenance this result.”
Affirmed.
14-1455 U.S. v. Conley
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Feinerman, J., Kanne, J.