2023 Delaware Code
Title 11 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Chapter 42. CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENSES; SENTENCES
§ 4204. Authorized disposition of convicted offenders.
(a) Every person convicted of an offense shall be sentenced in accordance with this Criminal Code, with the exception of an environmental misdemeanor as defined in § 1304 of Title 7. This section applies to all judgments of conviction, whether entered after a trial or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
(b) A person convicted of a class A felony may be sentenced to life imprisonment in accordance with § 4205 of this title, unless the conviction is for first-degree murder, in which event § 4209 of this title shall apply. Notwithstanding any other statute, a sentence under § 4209 of this title may not be suspended or reduced by the court.
(c) When a person is convicted of any offense other than a class A felony the court may take the following action:
(1) Impose a sentence involving an Accountability Level I sanction. — Such sanctions include imposition of a fine as provided by law for the offense or placement of the offender upon unsupervised probation with or without special conditions, or with or without the imposition of a fine as provided by law for the offense;
(2) Impose a sentence involving an Accountability Level II sanction. — Such a sanction includes a placement of the offender upon supervised probation amounting to field supervision rather than intensive supervision, with or without special conditions, or with or without the imposition of a fine as provided by law for the offense;
(3) Impose a sentence involving an Accountability Level III sanction. — Such sanctions include placement of the offender upon intensive supervision or placement of the offender upon community service, with or without special conditions, or with or without the imposition of a fine as provided by law for the offense. Such intensive supervision shall entail at least the equivalent of 1 hour of supervision per day and no more than 56 hours of supervision per week;
(4) Impose a sentence involving an Accountability Level IV sanction. — Such sanctions include placement of the offender upon partial confinement under house arrest under the supervision of the Department of Correction or commitment of the offender to the Department of Correction under partial confinement to a half-way house or restitution center or placement of the offender in a residential treatment facility, all with or without special conditions, and all with or without the imposition of a fine as provided by law for the offense;
(5) Impose a sentence involving an Accountability Level V sanction. — Such a sentence consists of the commitment of the offender to the Department of Correction for a period of incarceration, with or without the imposition of a fine provided by law for the offense;
(6) Impose a period of incarceration, with or without the imposition of a fine provided by law for the offense, and placement of the offender in a less restrictive sanction, with or without special conditions, to commence when the offender is released from incarceration;
(7) Suspend the imposition or execution of sentence, or suspend a portion thereof;
(8) Impose any sentence as authorized in this subsection to include any special condition such as the payment of restitution to the victim or victims of the crime for which the offender is being sentenced and/or participation in a drug/alcohol outpatient treatment program, job training program, mental health treatment program, education program, community service program or other like programs. With regard to any such programs, the offender may be ordered to pay a fee covering, in whole or in part, the costs of such program and such fees shall be based upon the offender's ability to pay therefor;
(9) Wherever a victim of crime suffers a monetary loss as a result of the defendant's criminal conduct, the sentencing court shall impose as a special condition of the sentence that the defendant make payment of restitution to the victim in such amount as to make the victim whole, insofar as possible, for the loss sustained. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, for the purposes of ensuring the payment of restitution the court shall retain jurisdiction over the offender until the amount of restitution ordered has been paid in full;
(10) Whenever restitution is ordered pursuant to paragraph (c)(9) of this section or any other applicable statute or rule, and if deemed appropriate to ensure or facilitate the collection of restitution from the defendant or if otherwise required by statute, the court may impose a sentence involving an Accountability Level I—Restitution Only sanction. Such a sanction shall be limited to the placement of the offender upon unsupervised probation, and the conditions of such probation shall be limited to those that are necessary to ensure or facilitate the collection of restitution. No offender shall be found to be in violation of the conditions of such a sanction unless the offender is found to be in violation of an applicable restitution order.
(d) Notwithstanding anything in this Criminal Code to the contrary, probation or a suspended sentence shall not be substituted for imprisonment where the statute specifically indicates that a prison sentence is a mandatory sentence, a minimum sentence, a minimum mandatory sentence or a mandatory minimum sentence, or may not otherwise be suspended.
(e) The court may authorize the payment of a fine in installments. When imposing probation the court shall direct that the offender be subject to the supervision of the Department of Correction and the court order shall specify those conditions under which the offender may remain at liberty on probation.
(f) In committing an offender to the Department of Correction the court shall fix the maximum term of incarceration.
(g) Where modification of judgment is not provided by rule of court, the court may modify a judgment within 90 days after it is ordered. Dispositions other than commitment to the Department of Correction, and such commitments which are revoked, shall not entail the loss by the offender of any civil rights, except as provided in the state Constitution.
(h) The court may direct that a person placed on probation be released on entering into a recognizance, with or without surety, during such period as the court directs, to appear and receive sentence when called upon, and, in the meantime, to keep the peace and be of good behavior.
(i) The court may, if it thinks proper, direct that the offender pay the costs of the prosecution or some portion thereof, and may further impose terms and conditions to be complied with by the offender during any period which it deems proper.
(j) At any time within the period mentioned in the recognizance, but not afterwards, the court may, upon being satisfied by information on oath that the offender has failed to observe any of the conditions of recognizance, or any of the terms or conditions of probation, issue an order for the offender's apprehension and thereupon, after proper hearing, impose sentence upon the offender.
(k) (1) Except as provided in this subsection, notwithstanding any statute, rule, regulation or guideline to the contrary, the court may direct as a condition to a sentence of imprisonment to be served at Level V or otherwise that all or a specified portion of said sentence shall be served without benefit of any form of early release, good time, furlough, work release, supervised custody or any other form of reduction or diminution of sentence.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, statutes which authorize early release, good time, furlough, work release, supervised custody, or reduction or diminution of sentence include but are not limited to §§ 4205(h) and (i), 4206(g) and (h), 4217, 4381, 6533, 6533A [repealed] and 6537-6539 of this title.
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall be applicable only to sentences of imprisonment at Level V for 1 year or less, or to sentences of imprisonment at Level V which are equal to the statutory maximum Level V sentence available for the crime or offense.
(l) Except when the court imposes a life sentence or sentence of death, whenever a court imposes a period of incarceration at Level V custody for 1 or more offenses that totals 1 year or more, then that court must include as part of its sentence a period of custodial supervision at either Level IV, III or II for a period of not less than 6 months to facilitate the transition of the individual back into society. The 6-month transition period required by this subsection may, at the discretion of the court, be in addition to the maximum sentence of imprisonment established by the statute.
(m) As a condition of any sentence, and regardless of whether such sentence includes a period of probation or suspension of sentence, the court may order the offender to engage in a specified act or acts, or to refrain from engaging in a specified act or acts, as deemed necessary by the court to ensure the public peace, the safety of the victim or the public, the rehabilitation of the offender, the satisfaction of the offender's restitution obligation to the victim or the offender's financial obligations to the State, or for any other purpose consistent with the interests of justice. The duration of any order entered pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed the maximum term of commitment provided by law for the offense or 1 year, whichever is greater; provided that in all cases where no commitment is provided by law the duration of such order shall not exceed 1 year. A violation of any order issued pursuant to this subsection shall be prosecuted pursuant to § 1271 of this title. Any such prosecution pursuant to § 1271 of this title shall not preclude prosecution under any other provision of this Code.
(n) Whenever a court imposes a sentence inconsistent with the presumptive sentences adopted by the Sentencing Accountability Commission, such court shall set forth on the record its reasons for imposing such penalty.
11 Del. C. 1953, § 4204; 58 Del. Laws, c. 497, § 2; 62 Del. Laws, c. 259, § 2; 66 Del. Laws, c. 134, §§ 1, 2; 67 Del. Laws, c. 130, §§ 6, 17, 18; 67 Del. Laws, c. 260, § 1; 67 Del. Laws, c. 350, §§ 1, 33; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 436, § 11; 71 Del. Laws, c. 32, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 98, § 5; 71 Del. Laws, c. 154, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 27, §§ 1-3;
