Secundino Barcelo Cocio v. Lloyd Bramlett, Superintendent, Arizona State Prison, Florence
Opinion
Opinion
Alarcon, J.
The State of Arizona appeals from the district court’s order granting a writ of habeas corpus. The district court concluded that, as applied to the petitioner, a life sentence without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years violated the eighth amendment. The state contends that Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated § 13-604.02 (Supp.1988), which mandates a life sentence for a convicted felon on probation, is constitutionally proportionate as applied to the convicted petitioner, Secundino Barcelo Cocio. We agree with the State of Arizona that Cocio’s sentence was constitutionally proportionate and reverse.
I
FACTS
On March 23, 1983, Cocio and codefend-ant Rodriquez were involved in an automobile accident that resulted in the death of Rodriquez’s brother. Cocio caused the accident by making an unsafe left turn into the side of Rodriquez’s moving car. Cocio and Rodriquez were both legally intoxicated at the time of the accident. Cocio had a blood alcohol level of .28, almost three times the level of presumed intoxication in Arizona. Cocio was on probation for a felony conviction for conspiracy to commit burglary at the time of the accident.