Does Resentencing Under 2005 Law for Murder Committed In 1996 Violate Constitutional Ban on 'Retroactive Laws?'

Where Defendant Was Not Subject to New Death Sentence Under 1996 Statute, But Death Penalty Can Be Reimposed Under Amended Version of Law

5th District Court of Appeals (Ashland County)

BACKGROUND: Maxwell White of Ashland was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death for a crime committed in January 1996. On the date White's crime was committed, Ohio's statute governing the resentencing of a capital offender whose death sentence is vacated on appeal, R.C. 2929.06, provided that in resentencing such an offender a trial court could not impose a new sentence of death, but instead must impose either a term of life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after 20 years, or a term of life imprisonment with parole eligibility after 30 years.