Tonge v. Simmons, 11 P.3d 77 (Kan. App. 2000)

Cases | Tonge v. Simmons, 11 P.3d 77 (Kan. App. 2000) | 2018

Petitioners pled guilty to a disciplinary violation of aggravated escape from custody. The disciplinary board ordered petitioners to repay the costs expended by the State in regaining their custody, as restitution for the violation. Restitution amounted to $1956.75 per petitioner. Petitioners alleged that the amount was unreasonable and the district court reduced the amount to $1104.68 per petitioner. On appeal, petitioners claimed that the district court should have ordered that the restitution payment not exceed half of their accounts. The appellate court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in reducing the amount to $1104.68 per petitioner. Because calculation of restitution is within the broad discretion of a sentencing court, there is no reason the same discretion should not be afforded a district court in recalculating restitution on a habeas corpus petition. The district court found that some of the costs included in the Department of Correction’s calculation of restitution were duplicative of normal state law enforcement costs. Because the reduced restitution amount was nearly the amount requested by petitioners, a reasonable person could have easily adopted the district court’s view.