Meyers v. State, 124 P.3d 710 (Wyo. 2005)

Cases | Meyers v. State, 124 P.3d 710 (Wyo. 2005) | 2018

In 2004, the defendant was convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter after he refused to give up his gun during a police pat-down search and shot at an officer several times. The victim submitted a written victim impact statement in the presentence investigation report and an oral victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing. On appeal, the defendant alleged that the district court erred by allowing the victim to present more than one victim impact statement. The supreme court held that a victim has the right to be notified of his or her opportunity to make a victim impact statement in both the presentencing report and at the sentencing hearing. Prior to the 2005 amendment of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-21-103, a victim could either make a written victim impact statement or an oral victim impact statement; however, the violation of such provision did not warrant a defendant’s appeal or a reduction of the sentence imposed unless the defendant demonstrated that the victim impact statements were prejudicial. In this case, the victim impact statements were not prejudicial to the defendant because the sentencing judge took into account the defendant’s criminal history and the particular facts of the case when making the sentencing decision. The judgment was affirmed.