Williams v. State

Full title: GLORIA B. WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

Court: FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA

Date published: Jul 29, 2019

No. 1D18-2898 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Jul. 29, 2019)

Opinion

No. 1D18-2898

07-29-2019

GLORIA B. WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

Andy Thomas, Public Defender, Steven L. Seliger, Assistant Public Defender, and Megan Long, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee; Gloria B. Williams, pro se, for Appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

On appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County.
Marianne Aho, Judge.

In 1998, Gloria Williams stole a newborn infant from a Jacksonville hospital and fled to South Carolina, where she raised the child for some eighteen years. After her eventual apprehension, Williams entered a negotiated plea to kidnapping and interference with custody. Under the terms of the agreement, she would be sentenced to between zero and twenty-two years for the kidnapping, and between zero and five years (concurrent) as to the interference with custody. The State agreed that it would request that the federal government not pursue any additional charges. After a sentencing hearing, the court imposed a sentence of eighteen years. This is Williams's direct appeal.

Williams's counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), concluding that there is no arguable issue for appeal. In this circumstance, we must complete a full and independent review of the record, see In re Anders Briefs, 581 So. 2d 149, 151 (Fla. 1991), and having done so, we too conclude there is no arguable issue for reversal. We reject as meritless the arguments Williams made in her pro se brief—that the eighteen-year sentence was unreasonable in light of mitigating factors and that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The sentence was lawful.

AFFIRMED. ROWE, KELSEY, and M.K. THOMAS, JJ., concur.

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla . R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. Andy Thomas, Public Defender, Steven L. Seliger, Assistant Public Defender, and Megan Long, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee; Gloria B. Williams, pro se, for Appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.