By Tom Eldred,
Delaware State News
DOVER - The Delaware Supreme Court agreed late Thursday to "reconsider'' its decision in the case of Ward T. Evans, an inmate at the Delaware Correctional Center near Smyrna who was sentenced to life in prison in 1982, with possibility of parole.
The order effectively puts on hold for at least two weeks the possible release from prison of as many as 200 individuals originally sentenced to life in prison before 1990.
"The motion that the case be submitted to the Court for reconsideration is granted,'' Supreme Court Justice Jack B. Jacobs said in a five-page order responding to a request from the state Department of Justice.
"Until the matter has been duly reconsidered and a mandate has been issued, no judgment entered in this matter shall be deemed to be final.''
The high court's Nov. 23, 2004, decision in the Evans case - which said his prison release date should be set at 45 years, less good time credits, instead of "life'' behind bars - created a firestorm 12 days ago.
A whirlwind of events and convoluted debate began, centered on the separation of powers in state government.
200 could be freed
Attorney General M. Jane Brady started the ball rolling when she announced that the high court had refused the state's request to reargue the Evans decision.
She warned that the ruling could open prison gates for 200 or more murderers, rapists and kidnappers. She said some could be set free immediately.
Expressing deep concern for victims, Ms. Brady urged the General Assembly to pass legislation to permit "involuntary civil commitment'' of any inmate qualified for release under the court's ruling who could classified a "violent sexual predator.''
Outraged legislators went a step further.
Both chambers quickly passed House Bill 31, declaring the Evans decision "null and void.'' They said the Supreme Court misinterpreted lawmakers' intent of original sentencing laws affecting Evans and other lifers with similar sentences.
Law experts decried the legislature's action. They said HB 31 far overstepped the time-honored concept of a free and independent judiciary.
But after seeking legal advice, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed HB 31 into law.
She said she agreed the Evans decision was incorrect and that she wanted to protect the public "to the greatest extent possible.''
She also said she was "very concerned'' that portions of HB 31 could be unconstitutional. In that vein, she asked the high court for an advisory opinion on those issues.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, filed another request with the Supreme Court Jan. 28.
The motion asked the court to recall its "mandate'' directing Kent County Superior Court to take the action necessary to change Evans' release date to 45 years.
But the "mandate'' wasn't properly issued. Supreme Court Administrator Steven B. Taylor said the evidentiary file in the Evans case had been misplaced in Wilmington for several days and could not be coupled with the mandate, which was handed down in Dover.
After the file was found, Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron B. Steele ordered that the docket entry be corrected and instructed that the mandate was not to be issued until further notice.
The Evans case
The Supreme Court based its decision on an appeal by Evans, who was convicted Sept. 29, 1982, of first-degree rape and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Although he was denied parole three times between 1993-99, he filed a motion in Kent County Superior Court on Jan. 8, 2004, claiming his sentence was illegal.
Representing himself, he argued that under the conditional release clause in the Delaware Code, he was entitled to have a release date calculated as if his life sentence was a 45-year term.
The Superior Court denied Evans' motion, so he appealed to the Supreme Court.
The high court agreed to hear the appeal, noting that the case presented "issues of statutory interpretation,'' which the court said it would be reviewing for the first time.
In its opinion, the court agreed with Evans that his sentence, as applied by the Department of Correction, was illegal because it did not provide a conditional release date.
According to the justices, DOC listed Evans' maximum release date as "death'' and his maximum sentence, less good time, as "life.''
The court determined Evans was correct because one section of the Delaware Code defined a life sentence as "a fixed term of 45 years.''
Another section said an inmate is entitled to conditional release when a maximum sentence ends, less any merit/good time credits earned.
The court said the ruling would not apply to crimes committed after June 30, 1990, when Delaware's Truth in Sentencing Act took effect.
The 'proper focus?'
In agreeing Thursday to reconsider the Evans decision, Justice Jacobs said the court would be looking at two prior rulings in which incarcerated individuals asked to have their prison sentences corrected.
One of the decisions, he said, interpreted state law as it applies to persons sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole before June 30, 1990, to mean 45-year sentences, less good time credits.
In the other decision, which was later partially overruled, the court held that persons sentenced to life with the possibility of parole prior to 1990 could not have their sentences reduced by good time credit.
"The parties should address (which of the two cases) is the proper focus of the parties' arguments in Evans' appeal,'' Justice Jacobs said.
He also noted that the record reflects that at the time Evans was sentenced, he was eligible for parole after he "served one-third of the term imposed by the court'' and that "such term (was) to be reduced by such merit and good behavior credits as have been earned..."
He said that on June 3, 1983, DOC records show Evans' "parole eligibility good time'' at 11 years, 5 months and 9 days.
Thursday's order directs the state and Evans to "file supplemental memoranda not to exceed 15 pages'' for re-arguing the case, on or before Feb. 17.
Ms. Brady said she was pleased by the order.
"We are gratified the court is willing to reconsider this matter,'' she said. "This means absolutely that no inmates affected by the Evans decision can be released until at least Feb. 17.''
Ms. Brady said her office started calling victims and next-of-kin who had been alerted that offenders might soon be released almost immediately after getting the news of the court's decision.
"We've called several victims already and will be trying to reach others over the weekend,'' she said Friday.
Chief Public Defender Lawrence M. Sullivan said he had not been contacted regarding the Evans ruling.
He said he did not know if Evans would continue to represent himself or seek counsel.
"I would think the court would offer to appoint counsel,'' he said. "But we have not been served any papers nor have we been asked for anything.''
Senior writer Tom Eldred can be reached at 741-8212 or at teldred@newszap.com.
Reprinted with permission from newszap.com
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