Opinion
ID No. 9603005283.
July 20, 2004.
Dear Mr. Nicholls:
Your request for modification has been reviewed by me as well as a review of your file. As you were aware, you were convicted and sentenced in 1997 for trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school and related charges. The trafficking in cocaine required a mandatory sentence of 15 years. You received six months on the possession of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school. Judge Gebelein presided over your case. Currently Judge Gebelein has received orders to serve our country in the Afghanistan campaign, and therefore this case has been assigned to me.
Rule 35 requires that modifications of sentence applications be filed with the Court promptly; otherwise, the Court loses jurisdiction. I note that it has been over 7 years since you've been sentenced. Therefore, the Court lost jurisdiction.
The thrust of your modification request is that you receive Key and Crest as a part of your substance abuse rehabilitation. You can obtain Key internally within the prison, but they usually do not provide it to you until the end of your sentence. That way what you've learned will be more relevant to you as you will need to put those tools to use upon release and not while you're in prison. Therefore, your modification request is denied.
Last year, the legislature modified some of the mandatory sentences for drug offenses. Some were reduced. The Department of Correction is in the process of reviewing the cases of inmates who might be eligible for a modification of sentence pursuant to 11 Del. C. § 4217. This is not a right or entitlement because you are required to serve the sentence in effect at the time of the commission of the crime. Nevertheless, there has been a review to see if it is appropriate to recommendation modifications in certain circumstances. You may wish to check with your counselor concerning this process.
Defendant's Motion for Modification of Sentence is denied.