State v. Spain

OPINION

LANCASTER, J.

A Dakota County jury convicted appellant, Nancy Louise Spain, of first-degree arson. The trial court sentenced appellant to 144 months, which constituted a triple durational departure from the presumptive sentence of 48 months set forth in the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines. In an unpublished decision, the court of appeals affirmed. We granted appellant’s petition for review for the limited purpose of reviewing the sentencing departure. We hold that the aggravating circumstances present in this case, while serious, do not justify a greater-than-double durational departure…