Cite as: 526 U. S. 227 (1999)
Kennedy, J., dissenting
from a crime—including whether the crime, after its commission, results in the serious bodily injury or death of a victim—has long been deemed relevant for sentencing purposes. Like recidivism, it is "as typical a sentencing factor as one might imagine," Almendarez-Torres v. United States, supra, at 230, a point the Court cannot dispute. To fix punishment based on the harm resulting from a crime has been the settled practice under traditional, discretionary sentencing regimes. See, e. g., U. S. Dept. of Justice, W. Rhodes & C. Conly, Analysis of Federal Sentencing X-13, XV-11 (Federal Justice Research Program Rep. No. FJRP-81/004, 1981) (under preguidelines practice, with respect to a variety of crimes, the amount of harm threatened or done to victims made a significant difference in the length of sentence). Even if we confine our attention to codified law, however, examples abound to prove the point. Other federal statutes, as the Court notes, treat serious bodily injury as a sentencing factor. Ante, at 235. As for state law, common practice discloses widespread reliance on victim-impact factors for sentencing purposes. See, e. g., Alaska Stat. Ann. § 12.55.125(c)(2) (1998) ("physical injury"); Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13.702(C) (Supp. 1998-1999) ("serious physical injury"); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1-105(9)(f) (1997) ("serious bodily injury"); Fla. Stat. Ann. § 921.0016(3)(l) (Supp. 1999) ("permanent physical injury"); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 706-662(5) (Supp. 1996) ("serious or substantial bodily injury" upon certain victims); Ill. Comp. Stat., ch. 730, § 5/5-5-3.2(a) (1997) ("serious harm"); La. Code Crim. Proc. Ann., Art. 894.1(B)(5) (West 1997) ("risk of death or great bodily harm to more than one person"); N. J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:44-1(a)(2) (West 1995) ("gravity and seriousness of harm inflicted on the victim"); N. C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1340.16(d)(19) (1997) ("[t]he serious injury inflicted upon the victim is permanent and debilitating"); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2929.12(B)(2) (1997) ("serious physical . . . harm"); Ore. Admin. Rules § 213-008- 0002(1)(b)(I) (1997) ("permanent injury"); Tenn. Code Ann.
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