State v. Murphy, 2016 Ohio 8147

In 1995 B.H. was kidnapped, beaten, and sexually assaulted; a rape kit was collected but the case was closed after the victim did not appear for follow-up.
In 2012 CODIS matched DNA from the rape kit to Jayson Murphy; a 2015 grand jury indictment charged him with rape, complicity, and kidnapping; Murphy pled guilty to one count of kidnapping in 2016 and the remaining counts were nolled.
At sentencing the court heard brief statements from defense and the state; the court noted Murphy’s extensive criminal history including unrelated sexual-battery convictions and that Murphy did not express remorse.
The court imposed a 10-year prison term for kidnapping, to run concurrently with a 20-year sentence Murphy was already serving, and five years of mandatory postrelease control.
Murphy appealed, arguing the sentence was “otherwise contrary to law” because the record was silent as to the trial court’s analysis under R.C. 2929.12 and the court failed to provide a specific, reasoned explanation for the term.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the sentence is "otherwise contrary to law" because the trial court failed to articulate consideration of R.C. 2929.11/2929.12 factors	State: trial court complied with statutory requirements; its statements and entry show it considered required factors	Murphy: trial court’s terse recitation and lack of specific rationale leave the record silent as to 2929.12 analysis, violating due process	Court: Affirmed — the court’s oral statement and journal entry sufficiently show consideration of R.C. 2929.11 and 2929.12; sentence not otherwise contrary to law

State v. Marcum, 146 Ohio St.3d 516 (Ohio 2016) (establishes appellate review standard under R.C. 2953.08(G)(2) for felony sentences and when a sentence may be modified or vacated)