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Case No. 21-1550

State of Iowa
v.
Davon Antwon Wright

Appellee

State of Iowa

Appellant

Davon Antwon Wright

Attorney for the Appellee

Sharon K. Hall (until withdrawal) and Nicholas E. Seifert, Assistant Attorneys General

Attorney for the Appellant

Joel E. Fenton

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
21-1550
Date Published:
Nov 17, 2022
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark R. Lawson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Schumacher, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Blane, S.J.  (8 pages)

            Davon Antwon Wright appeals his sentence following conviction for escape from custody as a habitual offender, a class “D” felony.  The district court, applying Iowa Code section 903A.5(1) (2021), found he was not entitled to receive credit for time served.  Wright asserts the supreme court COVID-19 supervisory order extending the speedy trial deadline resulted in him being detained an additional 236 days and this constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.  He argues his sentence is inconsistent with the legislative intent of section 903A.5(1) because the legislature did not contemplate significant extensions of the speedy trial deadline that occurred during the pandemic.  He further argues applying the statute as written, alongside the speedy trial extension, constituted a grossly disproportionate sentence.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no error in the district court’s conclusion it had no discretion in applying section 903A.5 to deny Wright credit.  We further find the resulting sentence was not grossly disproportionate to the offense and consequently did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

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