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Arnold v. State

The presumption of vindictiveness has no application to a sentence imposed after trial that is greater than one imposed after a guilty plea.

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In 1999, Bernard Arnold, Sr. pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and received a sentence of 15 years in prison. After a successful habeas challenge, Arnold withdrew his plea and was granted a jury trial. The jury acquitted Arnold of the rape and possession charges, but convicted him on one count of kidnapping, after which the trial court imposed a 20-year sentence. On appeal, Arnold argues that 1 his post-trial sentence constitutes an unconstitutionally vindictive punishment because it is greater than the sentence he received following his guilty plea; 2 the evidence was insufficient to support his kidnapping conviction; and 3 he is entitled to a new trial because the trial court erroneously charged the jury on the crime of kidnapping. For the reasons set forth infra, we affirm.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict,1 the record shows that around 3:00 a.m. on October 17, 1998, the victim—Arnold’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son—was awakened by the sound of her front door being broken open. She immediately leapt out of bed and sprinted to the closet where she stored her gun, while at the same time calling out to her 16-year-old son in the next room that someone was breaking into the house. And as she was attempting to turn the safety off on the gun, Arnold—who bursted into her bedroom—pushed her onto the bed. A struggle then ensued, resulting in Arnold grabbing the victim who stood at 4’9″ tall and weighed 125 pounds by the waist and pulling her outside into the yard.

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