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:
Date Published:
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.