Rudy Wayne Cardwell, Appellant (defendant Below) v. State of Indiana, Appellee (plaintiff Below)

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer limited to sentencing and, exercising its Rule 7(B) review-and-revise authority, concluded that Cardwell's aggregate thirty-four-year sentence for two Class B felony neglect convictions—burning his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter with hot water and delaying medical care—was inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character, revising it to consecutive nine- and eight-year terms totaling seventeen years. The court found no abuse of discretion in the trial court's refusal to recognize any mitigating circumstances, rejected any requirement that co-participants receive proportional sentences, and directed that appellate sentencing review focus on the aggregate sentence rather than individual counts. Justice Dickson concurred in the review framework and the abuse-of-discretion holding but dissented from the sentence revision, arguing the trial judge's thoroughly explained sentence should have been affirmed.