People v. Passalacqua

Full title: PEOPLE v PASSALACQUA

Court: Michigan Court of Appeals

Date published: Jul 26, 1973

48 Mich. App. 634 (Mich. Ct. App. 1973)

211 N.W.2d 59

Opinion

Docket No. 16063.

Decided July 26, 1973. Leave to appeal applied for.

Appeal from Ionia, Leo B. Bebeau, J. Submitted Division 3 June 5, 1973, at Grand Rapids. (Docket No. 16063.) Decided July 26, 1973. Leave to appeal applied for.

James Passalacqua was convicted, on his plea of guilty, of prison escape. Defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor General, and Walter M. Marks, Prosecuting Attorney, for the people.

Joseph B. Szeremet, Assistant State Appellate Defender, for defendant.

Before: R.B. BURNS, P.J., and FITZGERALD and O'HARA,^_ JJ.

_ Former Supreme Court Justice, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment pursuant to Const 1963, art 6, § 23 as amended in 1968.

R.B. BURNS, P.J.

The defendant pled guilty to the offense of escape from the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia. MCLA 750.193; MSA 28.390. He was sentenced to a term of 17 months to 15 years, which was to commence at the end of the sentence he was serving at the time of his escape. The trial court did not give the defendant credit for the time he spent in prison awaiting trial on the escape charge.

Defendant claims the trial court erred by not allowing him credit for the time he spent in prison awaiting trial.

MCLA 769.11b; MSA 28.1083(2) states:

"Whenever any person is hereafter convicted of any crime within this state and has served any time in jail prior to sentencing because of being denied or unable to furnish bond for the offense of which he is convicted, the trial court in imposing sentence shall specifically grant credit against the sentence for such time served in jail prior to sentencing."

It has been held that the foregoing statute should be liberally construed. People v Chattaway, 18 Mich. App. 538; 171 N.W.2d 801 (1969); People v Hall, 19 Mich. App. 95; 172 N.W.2d 473 (1969).

However, an exception has been created in cases involving the offense of "prison escape". People v Pruitt, 23 Mich. App. 510; 179 N.W.2d 22 (1970).

The punishment for the offense of prison escape is an exception to the concurrent sentence requirement. MCLA 750.193; MSA 28.390 provides in part that prison escape "shall be * * * punishable by further imprisonment * * * to be served after the termination, pursuant to law, of any sentence or sentences then being served". (Emphasis supplied.)

In our opinion this statute means exactly what it says. The defendant's sentence for prison escape is to start at the completion of the sentence he was serving at the time of his prison escape.

Defendant is not entitled to credit for the time spent in prison awaiting trial.

Affirmed.

All concurred.