Billy Jo Bellamy appeals from the denial of his Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief, following his guilty pleas on charges of first-degree burglary, theft, and money laundering. Bellamy contends the motion court'clearly erred in denying relief on his claim that the sentencing court exceeded its authority when it sentenced him to a term of imprisonment and restitution. For reasons explained herein, we reverse and modify the judgment in part by removing the order of restitution.
Factual and Procedural History
On March 30, 2011, Bellamy broke into a home in Saline County and stole $25,000 in gold and platinum coins.. Bellamy sold the coins to a third party, who paid him by issuing a check. Bellamy then cashed the check at a bank. Bellamy pleaded guilty on July 8, 2014, to first-degree burglary, theft of property worth $25,000 or more, and money laundering. The court sentenced him to concurrent terms of 20 years on each of the charges and ordered him- to pay $100,000 in restitution.
Bellamy idled a pro se Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief, and his appointed counsel timely filed an amended motion. One of his claims in his amended motion was that the sentencing court exceeded its authority when it sentenced him to a term of imprisonment and ordered him to pay restitution. The motion court denied Bellamy’s motion without an evi-dentiary hearing. Bellamy appeals.
Standard op Review
We review the denial of a post-conviction motion for clear error. Rule 24.035(k). The motion court’s findings and conclusions “are clearly erroneous only if, after a review of the entire record, the appellate court is left with the definite impression that a mistake has been made.” Dobbins v. State,
Analysis
In Point I, Bellamy contends the motion court clearly erred in denying his claim that the sentencing court exceeded its authority when it required him to serve a term of imprisonment and to pay restitution. Bellamy asserts that, when he committed the offenses, it was not permissible to order a defendant both to serve a prison term and to pay restitution.
Bellamy’s crimes occurred in March 2011. At that time, courts were allowed to order a defendant convicted of a felony to pay restitution as a condition of probation or parole. §§ 557.011.2, 559.021.2, 559.100.2.
This changed in 2013, when the legislature amended Section 559.105.1 to provide that “[a]ny person who has been ’found guilty of or has pled guilty to an offense may be ordered by the court to make restitution.” The amended version of Section 559.105, which became effective on August 28, 2013, “repealed] the prior prohibition against requiring a prisoner both to servé a prison term and to pay restitution.” State ex rel. Strauser v. Martinez,
When a statute increases the punishment for a crime after it has been committed and before the defendant has been sentenced, it raises ex post facto concerns. Ex post facto laws are prohibited under both the United States and Missouri Constitutions. U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 3, and art. I, § 10 cl. 1; Mo. Const. art. I, § 13. “An ex post facto law is a law that provides for punishment for an act that was not punishable when it was committed or that imposes an additional punishment to that in effect at the time the: act was committed.” State v. Harris,
It is undisputed that, when the sentencing court ordered Bellamy to pay restitution, it applied the 2013 version of Section 559.105 to conduct that Bellamy had completed in 2011. Thus, the dispositive issue is whether .the restitution order’increased the penalty beyond what the law provided when Bellamy committed his crimes. No Missouri case has previously addressed whether a restitution order pursuant to Section 559.105 constitutes additional punishment for ex post facto clause purposes.
Federal courts and other state courts, however, have addressed ex post facto clause implications in similar contexts. For example, federal courts have addressed the ex post facto clause implications of applying-‘the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 (“MVRA”) to crimes. committed before its enactment. At the time of its enactment, the MVRA differed from a pri- or federal restitution statute in that the MVRA made restitution mandatory for certain crimes;- requiring the court to-order restitution in the full amount of the
The State argues that the application of Section 559.105 to Bellamy does not violate the ex post facto clause because the statute “does not relate to a term of imprisonment or a penalty,” citing State ex rel. Webster v. Myers,
Contrary to the State’s contention, Myers does not preclude a finding that restitution under Section 559.105 qualifies as a punishment within the meaning of the ex post facto clause. See United States v. Williams,
Turning now to our analysis of Section 559.105’s application to crimes occurring before its enactment, we look to the text of Section 559.105 to determine whether a criminal restitution order as prescribed therein constitutes punishment within the meaning of the ex post facto clause. While we agree with the State that one purpose of Section 559.105 is to provide a remedy to victims who have been harmed by a defendant’s criminal act, we find that several provisions of Section 559.105 demonstrate the penal nature of criminal restitution orders. First, when a court orders a defendant to pay restitution, the defendant may not be released from probation until payment of the restitution is complete. § 559.105.2. Second, any defendant eligible for parole “shall be required, as a condition of parole, to make restitution pursuant to this section.” § 559.105.3. Indeed, the board of probation and parole is prohibited from releasing “any person from any term of parole for such offense until the person has completed such restitution, or until the maximum term of parole for such offense has been served.” § 559.105.3. Third, upon conditional release or parole, any restitution left unpaid may be collected by the prosecuting attorney as a condition of conditional release or parole under Section 559.100.
These provisions clearly demonstrate the punitive purpose of restitution orders under Section 559.105.
Conclusion
The motion court’s judgment upholding the sentencing court’s entry of a restitution order is reversed. Pursuant to Rule 84.14, the judgment is modified to strike the order that Bellamy pay restitution of
All Concur.
Notes
. All statutory references are to the Revised Statutes of Missouri 2000, as. updated by the 2013 Cumulative Supplement, unless otherwise indicated.
. We recognize that article V, section 3 of the ' Missouri Constitution vests the Supreme Court with exclusive appellate jurisdiction-in all cases involving the validity, of a statute. The Supreme Court has stated that its “exclusive jurisdiction is invoked when a party asserts that a state statute directly violates the constitution either facially or as applied.” McNeal v. McNeal-Sydnor,
. See, e.g., Ortiz v. State,
. Specifically, Section 407.100.4 of the Merchandising Practices Act.
. Article 1, section 13 of the Missouri Constitution provides, "That no ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts, or retrospective in its operation, or making any irrevocable grant of special privileges or immunities can be enacted.”
. Section 556.011 states that Chapters 556 to 580 constitute “The Revised Criminal Code.”
. The State’s reliance on Files v. Wetterau, Inc.,
. Section 559.100.2 also provides, in relevant part, that probation or parole may be revoked for failure to pay restitution.
. It is also worth noting that restitution in this case was ordered at the time of criminal sentencing, rather than in a separate proceeding as is the case in some states. Moreover, Section 559.105 appears in Title XXXVIII of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, titled “Crimes and Punishment; Peace Officers and Public Defenders.” (Emphasis added.)
. In his brief and during oral argument, Bellamy stated that, if we were to grant him relief on Point I, he desired to withdraw Points II, III, and IV. Hence, we need not address his remaining points.
