Is 65 years in prison too long for theft cases? Ohio Supreme Court weighs in

The Supreme Court of Ohio has reversed an appeals court decision on a former nursing home aide’s prison sentence for stealing from dozens of residents at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Delaware and Franklin counties.

The Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, found that trial courts need to consider an overall combined prison term when imposing consecutive sentences. The court also found the Fifth District Court of Appeals erred in deciding it had no authority to review and vacate Susan Gwynne’s sentence of 65 years in prison for 31 felony and 15 misdemeanor counts, to which she plead guilty.

The court remanded the case to the Fifth District to consider the consecutive sentences it imposed.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justice Jennifer Brunner joined Justice Melody Stewart’s majority opinion to reverse the prison sentence. Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge Mary Jane Trapp, sitting for Justice Michael P. Donnelly, also voted in the majority.

Justices Patrick F. Fischer, Sharon L. Kennedy and R. Patrick DeWine all voted in the minority.

Working as a nurse's aide, Gwynne stole 3,000 items from 46 people across 12 nursing homes between 2008 and 2016. In 2017, she was charged in Delaware County with 101 criminal charges and she pleaded guilty to 46 of them.

The prosecutors asked the judge to give her 42 years in prison. Her defense team suggested time in a community-based corrections facility.

At sentencing, Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge David Gormley gave her consecutive sentences that added up to 65 years in prison.

Gwynne appealed but the Fifth District Court of Appeals determined that it lacked the authority to vacate some or all of the stacked sentences.

The case raises the questions: What is appropriate punishment for a first-time, non-violent felony offender and what oversight should appeals courts have?

Gwynne, now 61, is incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

The Ohio Supreme Court is pushing out rulings before the make-up of the court changes in January. Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor leaves on Dec. 31, Justice Sharon Kennedy moves up to chief, and it was reported Dec. 22 that Gov. Mike DeWine will appoint Joe Deters to serve the remainder of Kennedy's current term. He would be eligible to seek reelection in two years.

Because of the timing of the Gwynne decision, it could be subject to reversal. Prosecutors could file a motion for reconsideration, which the new court could take up in January.

This is the second time the case has come before the Ohio Supreme Court.

In 2019, the court remanded Gwynne's conviction to the Fifth District after it had reduced Gwynne's sentence to 15 years, indicating that the appeals court had used the wrong standards to reduce the sentence. At that point, the appeals court responded that it had to defer to the trial court's 65-year-sentence.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is 65 years in prison too long for theft? Ohio Supreme Court weighs in