Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1251 (2026)

Imprisonment for murder

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section ME-LEGlegislature.maine.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(REPEALED)

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW). PL 1975, c. 740, §§114,115 (AMD). PL 1977, c. 510, §74 (RPR). PL 1983, c. 581, §3 (RPR). PL 1983, c. 673, §3 (RPR). PL 1999, c. 536, §1 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 88, §B1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 374, §1 (RPR). PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. A, §1 (RP).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 41 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1976–2022 · leading case: State v. Sweet, 2000 ME 14 (Me. 2000).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

State v. Sweet, 2000 ME 14 (Me. 2000). · cites it 7× “In this context, "[t]he court may consider a serious criminal history of the defendant and impose a maximum period of incarceration in excess of 20 years based on either the nature and seriousness of the crime alone or on the nature and seriousness of the crime coupled with the…”

State of Iowa v. Damion John Seats, 865 N.W.2d 545 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 2× “) (allowing juvenile life without parole for first- and second-degree murder); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 17-A, § 1251 (West, Westlaw through emergency legis.”

State of Maine v. Sharon Carrillo, 2021 ME 18 (Me. 2021). · cites it 3× “” 17-A M.R.S. § 1251 (2017).6 In fashioning a murder sentence within that range, a court is required to complete two steps: “First, the court determines the basic term of imprisonment based on an objective consideration of the particular nature and seriousness of the crime.”

State of Maine v. Anthony S. Leng, 2021 ME 3 (Me. 2021). · cites it 5× “17-A M.R.S. § 1251 (2018).7 “When a court imposes a basic sentence at or near the maximum, it does not misapply sentencing principles if it finds the defendant’s conduct most serious as compared to other means of committing the crime within that same range.”

State v. Crocker, 435 A.2d 58 (Me. 1981). · cites it 2× “According to that viewpoint, the two offenses, purportedly different and carry penalties of different severity, compare 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1251 with id. §§ 203(3), 1252(2)(A), are in reality the same; and any murder conviction that might be founded on the depraved indifference…”

State v. Dwyer, 2009 ME 127 (Me. 2009). · cites it 3× “17-A M.R.S. § 1251 (2008). Here, the State recommended a basic sentence of seventy years, while Dwyer requested a basic sentence of not more than thirty years.”

Libby v. State, 2007 ME 80 (Me. 2007). · cites it 6× “4 Pursuant to 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1251 (Supp.1999), a person convicted of murder may be sentenced anywhere from a minimum of twenty-five years to a maximum of life in prison.”

State v. Thongsavanh, 2007 ME 20 (Me. 2007). · cites it 2× “” 17-A M.R.S. § 1251 (2006). The court sentenced Thongsavanh to fifty-eight years for the murder of Morgan McDuffee.”

State v. Hutchinson, 2009 ME 44 (Me. 2009). · cites it 2× “Maine’s mur *933 der sentencing statute, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1251 (Supp.1994), 14 provides in pertinent part, “[a] person convicted of the crime of murder shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life or for any term of years that is not less than 25.”

State of Maine v. Rondon Athayde, 2022 ME 41 (Me. 2022). “” 17-A M.R.S. § 1251(2)(C) (2018); see 19-A M.”

State of Maine v. Noah Gaston, 2021 ME 25 (Me. 2021). · cites it 2× “” 17-A M.R.S. § 1251 (2016).11 In fashioning a murder sentence, a court is required to complete two steps: “First, the court determines the basic term of imprisonment based on an objective consideration of the particular nature and seriousness of the crime.”

State of Maine v. Reginald J. Dobbins Jr., 2019 ME 116 (Me. 2019). · cites it 2× “The trustworthiness of Geary’s statement against penal interest is materially enhanced because it took the form of a guilty plea to the most serious criminal offense created by State law, see 17-A M.R.S. §§ 1251, 1252 (2018) (providing that the minimum sentence for murder is 25…”

Show all 41 citing cases →

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1251(1) — 5 cases

State of Maine v. Anthony Lord, 2019 ME 82 (Me. 2019).

State of Maine v. Reginald J. Dobbins Jr., 2019 ME 116 (Me. 2019). “The trustworthiness of Geary’s statement against penal interest is materially enhanced because it took the form of a guilty plea to the most serious criminal offense created by State law, see 17-A M.R.S. §§ 1251, 1252 (2018) (providing that the minimum sentence for murder is 25…”

State of Maine v. John De St. Croix, 2020 ME 142 (Me. 2020).

State of Maine v. Anthony S. Leng, 2021 ME 3 (Me. 2021). “17-A M.R.S. § 1251 (2018).7 “When a court imposes a basic sentence at or near the maximum, it does not misapply sentencing principles if it finds the defendant’s conduct most serious as compared to other means of committing the crime within that same range.”

State of Maine v. F Daly, 2021 ME 37 (Me. 2021).

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1251(2)(A) — 1 case

State v. Sweet, 2000 ME 14 (Me. 2000). “In this context, "[t]he court may consider a serious criminal history of the defendant and impose a maximum period of incarceration in excess of 20 years based on either the nature and seriousness of the crime alone or on the nature and seriousness of the crime coupled with the…”

— Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 1251(2)(C) — 2 cases

State of Maine v. Rondon Athayde, 2022 ME 41 (Me. 2022). “” 17-A M.R.S. § 1251(2)(C) (2018); see 19-A M.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.