Can a Sentence Be Amended to Increase the Punishment Once Execution of Sentence Has Begun ?

In In re Zilba (1996), 110 Ohio App.3d 258, 673 N.E.2d 997., on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the defendant was originally given a suspended sentence of incarceration and community control. After the trial court found new information regarding the nature of the community control program and the defendant's pre-conviction acts, it eliminated the community control and imposed the suspended term of incarceration. We followed City of Brook Park and Greulich to squarely hold that "once execution of sentence has begun, the trial court may not amend the sentence to increase the punishment." In re Zilba, 110 Ohio App.3d at 261, citing State v. Greulich, supra. the Court found the second judgment to be void and reinstated the earlier judgment.