United States v. Lawrence, No. 13-2487 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Defendant had posted a classified ad on Craigslist.com offering to pay for the murder of police officers. The court affirmed, concluding that the district court gave great weight to defendant's mental illness, departing downward from his guidelines sentence by 48 months despite finding that his history of inappropriate behavior, combined with his access to firearms, created a "potentially explosive situation." Accordingly, defendant's sentence was substantively reasonable where the district court was within its discretion to consider defendant's capacity to cause harm in the future.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. Contrary to defendant's argument, the district court gave great weight to his mental illness, departing downward 48 months; the sentence imposed was not substantively unreasonable in light of defendant's history of violent threats and capacity to cause future harm.
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