State v. Gilliland
Annotate this CaseVernon Gilliland was convicted by a jury of one count of aggravated criminal sodomy with a child under fourteen years of age. Because Gilliland was over the age of eighteen at the time of the offense, his conviction was for an off-grid person felony. Under Jessica's Law, the prescribed sentence for Gilliland's conviction was life imprisonment. Although the sentencing court denied Gilliland's motion for a departure sentence, the court did not impose a life sentence. Instead, the court imposed a sentence under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act for a specific term. Thus, the effect of the sentence was contrary to the explicit finding of the sentencing court. The Supreme Court affirmed Gilliland's conviction but vacated Gilliland's sentence, holding that the sentence was illegal because of the ambiguity created by a finding that contradicted the sentence. Remanded for resentencing.
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