State of Connecticut v. Arnold Bell

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant's enhanced forty-year sentence, concluding that retroactive application of the constitutionally modified persistent-dangerous-felony-offender statute did not violate ex post facto or due process principles. It held that the statute's valid provisions remained severable, that the statutory public-interest inquiry excludes incarceration costs, and that evidence concerning the anticipated duration of the defendant's federal sentence was properly excluded. The court further held that any error in admitting detailed evidence of the victim's injuries was harmless.