In syllabus point eight of State v. Vance, 164 W. Va. 216, 262 S.E.2d 423 (1980), this Court explained:

        Article III, Section 5 of the West Virginia Constitution, which contains the cruel and unusual punishment counterpart to the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, has an express statement of the proportionality principle: “Penalties shall be proportioned to the character and degree of the offense.”

Id. at 217, 262 S.E.2d at 425. In syllabus point four of State v. Goodnight, 169 W. Va. 366, 287 S.E.2d 504 (1982), this Court noted that “[s]entences imposed by the trial court, if within statutory limits and if not based on some impermissible factor, are not subject to appellate review.” Id. at 366, 287 S.E.2d at 505. Sentences imposed under statutes providing no upper limits may be contested based upon allegations of violation of the proportionality principles contained in Article III, Section 5 of the West Virginia Constitution. State v. Rogers, 167 W.Va. 358, 360, 280 S.E.2d 82, 84 (1981). In Wanstreet v. Bordenkircher, 166 W.Va. 523, 276 S.E.2d 205 (1981), this Court explained: “While our constitutional proportionality standards theoretically can apply to any criminal sentence, they are basically applicable to those sentences where there is either no fixed maximum set by statute or where there is a life recidivist sentence.” Id. at 531, 276 S.E.2d at 211.

    In this case sub judice, the Appellant was sentenced pursuant to West Virginia Code § 61-2-12 (2000) (Repl. Vol. 2000), providing, in pertinent part, as follows: “Any person who commits . . . robbery by . . . us[ing] the threat of deadly force by the presenting of a firearm or other deadly weapon, is guilty of robbery in the first degree and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than ten years.” We consequently examine the Appellant's disproportionality challenge under the two methods of evaluation consistently utilized by this Court and succinctly expressed in State v. Cooper, 172 W.Va. 266, 304 S.E.2d 851 (1983). In Cooper, this Court articulated the twofold analysis appropriate for the disproportionality challenge, as follows:

    The first [test] is subjective and asks whether the sentence for the particular crime shocks the conscience of the court and society. If a sentence is so offensive that it cannot pass a societal and judicial sense of justice, the inquiry need not proceed further. When it cannot be said that a sentence shocks the conscience, a disproportionality challenge is guided by the objective test we spelled out in Syllabus Point 5 of Wanstreet v. Bordenkircher, 166 W.Va. 523, 276 S.E.2d 205 (1981):

            In determining whether a given sentence violates the proportionality principle found in Article III, Section 5 of the West Virginia Constitution, consideration is given to the nature of the offense, the legislative purpose behind the punishment, a comparison of the punishment with what would be inflicted in other jurisdictions, and a comparison with other offenses within the same jurisdiction.

Id. at 272, 304 S.E.2d at 857.

    Accordingly, the West Virginia Legislature has conferred broad discretion to trial courts in sentencing individuals convicted of aggravated robbery or attempted aggravated robbery. “'The Legislature chose not to deprive trial courts of discretion to determine the appropriate specific number of years of punishment for armed robbery, beyond ten.'” State v. Woods, 194 W.Va. 250, 254, 460 S.E.2d 65, 69 (1995), quoting State ex rel. Faircloth v. Catlett, 165 W.Va. 179, 181, 267 S.E.2d 736, 737 (1980). This Court discussed this broad discretion in State v. Mann, 205 W. Va. 303, 518 S.E.2d 60 (1999), as follows:

    This Court has recognized that the Legislature, by not expressly fixing a maximum term, has impliedly authorized life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for aggravated robbery. State v. Turley, 177 W.Va. 69, 350 S.E.2d 696 (1986). The Legislature has chosen not to deprive trial courts of discretion to determine the appropriate determinate term for life or for a specific number of years above the statutory minimum as the sentence for aggravated robbery. This legislatively created statutory minimum/discretionary maximum sentencing scheme for aggravated robbery serves two purposes. First, it gives recognition to the seriousness of the offense by imposing a minimum sentence below which a trial court may not go. Second, the open-ended maximum sentencing discretion allows trial courts to consider the weight of aggravating and mitigating factors in each particular case.

Id. at 315-16, 518 S.E.2d at 72-73 (footnote omitted).

    As examined above, the Appellant's offense in the present case involved the armed robbery of two young women exiting a downtown mall. The use of the deadly weapon infused a considerable risk of injury to the victims, and the manner in which the robbery was conducted, including forcing one victim to the ground at gunpoint and returning to steal the automobile keys, was particularly terrifying for the young victims. Even where victims have not been harmed during armed robberies, this Court has considered the emotional damage suffered by the victim. See State v. Spence, 182 W. Va. 472, 482, 388 S.E.2d 498, 508 (1989). This Court has also repeatedly explained that even where no actual injury occurred, use of a deadly weapon creates “[t]he potential for bodily harm or loss of life. . . .” State v. England, 180 W. Va. 342, 356, 376 S.E.2d 548, 562 (1988).

    In Mann, this Court again reviewed comparable crimes in other jurisdictions and concluded that Mr. Mann's sentence of thirty years for aggravated robbery was not inconsistent with punishments imposed for similar crimes in other jurisdictions. 205 W. Va. at 316, 518 S.E.2d at 73. See also People v. Murph, 463 N.W.2d 156 (Mich. App. 1990) (affirming two forty-sixty sentences for armed robbery).

    In a case quite similar to the present matter, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a sentence of life imprisonment for robbery in the first degree. State v. Morris, 661 S.W.2d 84 (Mo.App.1983). The defendant and an accomplice had robbed the victim while he was walking in a supermarket parking lot. The victim was forced to the pavement, and the defendant held a gun to his side and confiscated his billfold. On appeal of the sentence of life imprisonment, the defendant claimed that his sentence violated the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment contained in the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 21 of Missouri's Constitution. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed, explaining that armed robbery is a vicious crime and that the legislature had acknowledged the egregiousness of the crime by establishing a range of punishment for robbery in the first degree from “a term of years not less than ten years and not to exceed thirty years, or life imprisonment.” Id. at 85, quoting Section 558.011.1(1) R.S.Mo. 1978.

    In a factual scenario very similar to the present case, this Court in Mann upheld a thirty-year sentence for aggravated robbery where the defendant showed no remorse, threatened a clerk with a gun, and had a prior drug-related felony conviction and a conviction for assault. 205 W.Va. at 316, 518 S.E.2d at 73. The Court reasoned:

    Obviously, the store clerk was traumatized by the situation. In fact, the record indicates the store clerk changed jobs as a result of the robbery. The trial court indicated best, during the sentencing hearing, the gravity of aggravated robbery: “Other than a murder, there is not much anything I can think of more serious than having a gun stuck in your face and being robbed.”

Id. at 315, 518 S.E.2d at 72.

    Forty-five year sentences for each of two counts of aggravated robbery were upheld in Phillips. 199 W.Va. at 509, 485 S.E.2d at 678.   (See footnote 7)  During the two robberies, the defendant had threatened employees with an air pistol which resembled a real gun. He had taken an eighteen-year-old female employee hostage and forced her to accompany him to the nearest interstate highway. In upholding the sentences, this Court observed that the lower court had rightfully considered the violent and dangerous nature of the crimes committed, as well as the pre-sentence report which included information concerning the defendant's juvenile larceny charge, a history of substance abuse, and a dishonorable discharge from the Navy. Id. at 513, 485 S.E.2d at 682.

    In Woods, this Court upheld a determinate sentence of thirty-six years for aggravated robbery. 194 W. Va. at 251, 460 S.E.2d at 66. The defendant robbed a convenience store, using a gun. After the clerk gave the defendant money and other items out of the cash register, the defendant forcibly kissed her. Id.

    Similarly, in Ross, this Court upheld a defendant's 100-year sentence for attempted aggravated robbery. 184 W.Va. at 580, 402 S.E.2d at 249. The defendant was also convicted of burglary and first degree sexual assault. The defendant had broken into the victim's apartment while the victim was not home. When she returned home, the defendant sexually assaulted her and demanded money. In upholding the defendant's sentence, this Court acknowledged that the defendant was young and did not have a lengthy felony conviction record. Id. at 582, 402 S.E.2d at 251.

    This Court also upheld a defendant's sixty-year sentence for armed robbery of a convenience store in Spence. 182 W.Va. at 475, 388 S.E.2d at 501. The defendant had held a large kitchen-type chopping knife to the store clerk's back and demanded the money from the cash register. Upon obtaining the money, the defendant commanded the store clerk to get down on the floor while he left. In affirming the defendant's sentence, this Court noted that the defendant had several prior convictions including one for armed robbery. Id. at 482, 388 S.E.2d at 508.

    In England, this Court examined a defendant's life sentence for aggravated robbery. 180 W.Va. at 346, 376 S.E.2d at 552. The defendant had entered a gas station and demanded the station's money bag. When the clerk informed the defendant that the money had already been deposited that evening, the defendant shot at the highway in disgust. The clerk then provided a money bag containing approximately $230.00. The defendant then fired another shot into the booth inside the station and requested more money. Upon learning that there was no more money, the defendant fired a third shot into a telephone. Upon review, this Court concluded that the defendant's life sentence was not disproportionate, based upon the violent nature of the crime and the defendant's prior criminal record, including a conviction for grand larceny. Id. at 356, 376 S.E.2d at 562.

    In State v. Brown, 177 W. Va. 633, 355 S.E.2d 614 (1987), this Court upheld a sixty-year sentence for aggravated robbery. The defendant had robbed a restaurant owner, using a knife, and had sexually abused the victim. The defendant was also convicted of first-degree sexual abuse for which he received a one-to-five-year consecutive sentence. In upholding the defendant's sixty-year sentence for aggravated robbery, this Court recognized the violent nature of the crime and the use of a weapon. The Court also observed that the defendant had not expressed remorse for his crimes. Id. at 642, 355 S.E.2d at 623.

    In State v. Buck, 173 W. Va. 243, 314 S.E.2d 406 (1984), this Court reversed a seventy-five year sentence for aggravated robbery where the defendant and a companion attacked and robbed a store owner. The defendant, age twenty-three, had a substantial juvenile record but no adult criminal record. Not only was the expression of remorse a factor in this Court's finding that Buck's sentence was disproportionate, but we also considered the sentencing disparity between the co-defendants. When his case was appealed to this Court after the lower court sentenced the defendant to a term of thirty years, this Court affirmed that sentence. State v. Buck, 178 W. Va. 505, 361 S.E.2d 470 (1987).

    In Cooper, referenced above, this Court reversed a forty-five year sentence for robbery. 172 W. Va. at 274, 304 S.E.2d at 859. The defendant, age nineteen, and an accomplice had beaten and robbed the victim. In remanding the case to the trial court for re-sentencing, this Court observed that the defendant had only one prior arrest, which was for public intoxication. Additionally, no weapon was involved in the crime. Id. at 271, 304 S.E.2d at 855.

    Having examined the nature of the offenses and the respective sentences imposed in the foregoing cases, we conclude that the Appellant's sentence of thirty years in the case sub judice is constitutionally proportionate to the character and degree of the offense for which he was convicted.
    

    The lower court was presented with extensive information and testimony from a wide variety of sources, some advocating leniency and some encouraging harsh punishment. Numerous letters from family friends implored the lower court to impose a mild sentence based upon the fact that the Appellant was raised in a Christian home, was a mannerly young man, and had lost his mother at a young age.   (See footnote 9)  The lower court also reviewed the adult probation report and reviewed statements from the victims and the parents of both victims.

    The inclusion of victim impact statements in sentencing hearings is well- established and is not being directly challenged by the Appellant. In light of the Appellant's implication that the lower court was in some manner inordinately persuaded by the victim impact statements and the presentation of Mr. Copeland in this case, however, we reemphasize the requirements of West Virginia Code § 61-11A-3 (1994) (Repl. Vol. 2000) regarding probation reports and victim impact statements.   (See footnote 10)  West Virginia Code § 61-11A- 3(c) concisely provides that “[t]he victim impact statement shall be considered by the court as a factor in determining the appropriate sentence.”