Cases | State v. Gibney, 825 A.2d 32 | 2018
The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder. At sentencing, the court used the definition of “victim” in crime victim compensation statute Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, § 5301(4) to conclude that the victim’s family members were “victims” and that the murder therefore “involved multiple victims” as an aggravating factor under Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, § 2303(d)(6). On appeal, the defendant claimed that the trial court erred in using § 2303(d)(6) as an aggravating factor. The court held that § 2303(d)(6) is limited to persons killed and does not include family members of such persons. Sections 5301 and 2303 require different constructions of their key terms, as the former is remedial in nature and the latter is a penal statute that must be strictly construed in a manner favorable to the accused. Further, giving the term “victim” an expansive meaning to include family members would render the aggravating factor meaningless, as murder always results in a loss to the victim’s relatives. The court remanded to trial court for resentencing.