United States v. Ruth Kane, No. 06-1103 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury found defendant guilty of various federal sex crimes, the district court sentenced her to 120 months in prison and the court reversed the sentence, holding that it was unreasonable. The Supreme Court subsequently granted defendant's petition for a writ of certiorari and vacated the judgment and remanded for reconsideration in light of Pepper v. United States. The court again vacated the 120 month sentence and remanded for resentencing where the district court could consider evidence of postsentencing rehabilitation on defendant's part, including, but not limited to, any rehabilitation after sentencing. The court also ordered the district court to ensure the child victim received any restitution to which she was entitled from defendant.
Court Description: Criminal Case - sentence. On remand from Supreme Court to consider case in light of Pepper v. United States, the district court's findings that defendant posed a low risk of recidivism and her crimes were based on past substance abuse and mental health issues and because of influence by Champion are still clearly erroneous and thus district court committed procedural error by basing sentence on unsupported determination. Reliance on postsentence rehabilitation no longer an error, but district court's failure to support degree of variance with sufficient justification holds. Sentence is not substantially reasonable and case is remanded for resentencing. Judge Murphy dissents.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on January 14, 2009.
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