Malloy v. State

OPINION

MANNHEIMER, Judge.

In this appeal, we are asked to revisit an issue that was decided by the Alaska Supreme Court in State v. Malloy, 46 P.3d 949 (Alaska 2002) (an earlier stage of this same case). Under AS 12.55.125(a)(8), a defendant convicted of first-degree murder faces a mandatory minimum 99-year term of imprisonment, with no possibility of discretionary parole, if the sentencing judge finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant subjected the victim to substantial physical torture. The question is whether this statute violates a criminal defendant's right to trial by…