STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. LATONIA E. BELLAMY (11-03-0348, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-0502-19)
The court remands the matter for resentencing of Latonia Elizabeth Bellamy, a/k/a Na-Na, Latonia E. Bellamy, Latonia Bellamy, whom a jury convicted of first-degree murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3(a)(1) and (2), among other offenses. The court reiterates that a resentence, absent some specific limiting directive to the contrary, allows a judge to engage in the statutory analysis anew. State v. Case, 220 N.J. 49 (2014). The judge must sentence the defendant as he or she stands before the court at that time.
The court also addressed the applicability of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(14), a mitigating factor enacted after defendant's prior sentence. It applies when a defendant is less than twenty-six years of age when the crimes occurred. It may be considered on remand because this is essentially a new sentence proceeding. Application of the statute is therefore not "retroactive," and even if so, the statute's ameliorative purpose allows it. This does not automatically entitle youthful defendants sentenced before October 19, 2020, with cases in the pipeline, to reconsideration of their sentences based solely on a claim that the new law should be applied.
Furthermore, defendant should be granted access, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.10a(b)(6), to her Division of Child Protection and Permanency records in preparation for her sentence. Defendants charged with crimes are entitled to the records, redacted by the court, to aid in their defense where relevant as a matter of due process. State v. Cusick, 219 N.J. Super. 452, 459 (App. Div. 1987). The records should be made equally available to individuals who came under the Division's care and may benefit from access to the information. The application may be made in the Law Division, not in the Family Part.
