P.

FACTS

On October 27, 2000, Johnson, the manager of a mobile home park, got into a verbal argument with Doug Casper, one of the park‟s residents, in the park‟s laundry room. Casper followed Johnson to Johnson‟s trailer and challenged him to a fistfight. Johnson went into his trailer, telling Casper he was going to call the police. Casper waited outside, between a fence and Johnson‟s pickup truck. While in his trailer, Johnson called the police and told them Casper had threatened to assault him.4 When Johnson came out of the trailer a few minutes later, he walked over to Casper and continued to argue. Johnson pulled a gun out of his waistband, brought the gun to Casper‟s face and immediately pulled the trigger. Casper, who was shot in the mouth, died from the gunshot wound. Johnson called 911 with a cordless phone he was carrying with him and told the operator he shot Casper to defend himself. Casper‟s wife, Joyce, screamed for help. According to Joyce, Johnson, who was standing nearby, told her to “Shut the fuck up, help‟s on the way.”

DISCUSSION

Changes in the Law for Imposing an Upper Term Sentence In the period following Johnson‟s original sentence, many changes occurred in…