Brunson v. StateBrunson v. State
- Reporters:
- ,
- Before:
- Hubbart, Nesbitt, Ferguson (per curiam)
The defendant Allangson Brunson appeals his convictions and sentences for armed burglary of an occupied structure and sexual battery with a weapon. He raises four points on appeal.
First, he claims the trial court erred in admitting a statement of the rape victim shortly after the victim was raped. We disagree. The statement was admissible under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule. Appell v. State, 250 So.2d 318 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 257 So.2d 257 (Fla. 1971);
The final point raised presents reversible error. The trial court departed from the sentencing guidelines in this case and sentenced the defendant to two consecutive life sentences. Plainly, two of the reasons given by the trial court for departing from the guidelines were invalid reasons, regardless of any support in the record for same, to wit: (1) the defendant‘s prior criminal history of assaultive behavior, see Hendrix v. State, 475 So.2d 1218 (Fla. 1985); Battles v. State, 482 So.2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); and (2) the defendant‘s lack of remorse for having committed the offense for which he was sentenced. Hunt v. State, 468 So.2d 1100 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); Mischler v. State, 458 So.2d 37 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), approved, 488 So.2d 523 (Fla. 1986); Hubler v. State, 458 So.2d 350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). The third reason, psychological injury to the victim — although a valid reason for departing from the guidelines providing there is a proper showing in the record that the victim has, in fact, suffered a substantial psychological injury — was not a valid reason for departure
The judgments of conviction under review are affirmed; the sentences under review are reversed and the cause is remanded to the trial court for resentencing within the sentencing guidelines.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part.