[Download] "Henry Lee Brown v. State" by Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Henry Lee Brown v. State
- Author : Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
- Release Date : January 12, 1993
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 54 KB
Description
McMILLAN, JUDGE The record indicates that the appellant was charged with five counts of robbery in the first degree, two counts
of rape in the first degree, and one count of sodomy in the first degree. Bond was set by the trial court at $75,000 on each
count. The appellant filed a motion to reduce bond and after a hearing, the appellant's motion was denied. The appellant appeals
that denial. The appellant argues that his bail was excessive, in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
and of Article 1, § 16 of the Alabama Constitution. The appellant further argues that, by setting his total bail
at approximately $600,000, the trial court effectively denied his right to bail. In his motion for bail reduction, the appellant
argues that the initial bond of approximately $600,000 was excessive under the "rough rule of thumb" enunciated in Wade v.
State, 42 Ala.App. 400, 166 So.2d 739 (1964), which says that a proper bail amount be calculated at a rate of $1,000 per year
of the maximum potential sentence. The appellant argues that because the average black male lives to be 68.4 years, his bail
amount should have been $60,000. However, as the State argued in its brief, because the crimes with which the appellant was
charged -- i.e., robbery in the first degree, rape in the first degree, and sodomy in the first degree -- are all Class A
felonies, and the maximum sentence for Class A felonies is life or 99 years, see § 13A-5-6, Code of Alabama 1975,
bail could have been set at $99,000 on each count, rather than $75,000 as set by the lower court.