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Escape Not Per Se "Violent Felony" Under ACCA

By Jonathan Byrne

US v. Bethea: Bethea pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 180 months in prison under the ACCA. The third qualifying predicate offense was Bethea's prior conviction in South Carolina for escape, which the district court concluded was a "violent felony" under the ACCA.On appeal, the Fourth Circuit answered two questions: (1) was the South Carolina crime of escape categorically a "violent felony"?; and (2) if not, does Bethea's conviction specifically "involve[] the type of violent conduct contemplated by the ACCA"?. The answer, to both questions, was "no." As to the first question, the court applied the Supreme Court's recent decision in Chambers v. US and concluded that the South Carolina escape statute, which that state's supreme court has given a "broad scope," encompasses both conduct that might meet the definition of violent felony (i...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Circuit Blog on April 28, 2010 (boomark / email).