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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Rockingham No. 2012-195 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. RYAN MARTIN Argued: January 10, 2013 Opinion Issued: March 13, 2013 Michael A. Delaney, attorney general (Nicholas Cort, assistant attorney general, on the brief and orally), for the State. James B. Reis, assistant appellate defender, of Concord, on the brief and orally, for the defendant. HICKS, J. The defendant, Ryan Martin, appeals a ruling of the Superior Court (Delker, J.) sentencing him to both a stand-committed prison term of one to three years and probation for two years. We affirm. I The defendant pleaded guilty to theft by unauthorized taking, see RSA 637:3 (2007), and pleaded true to violating probation after attempting to steal groceries from a Concord supermarket in October 2011. The former offense

was a class B felony under RSA 637:11, II(b) (2007). The trial court sentenced him to one to three years of imprisonment and two years of probation "upon release." The defendant opposed the imposition of probation, arguing that it is "illegal . . . to impose a term of probation and a committed State prison sentence." The trial court disagreed, and this appeal ensued. II The defendant first argues that the trial court "lack[s] statutory authority to impose a stand-committed prison sentence and a term of probation on the same charge." Accordingly, he contends that we "must vacate the sentence . . . and remand for resentencing." RSA 651:2, I (2007) provides: "A person convicted of a felony or a Class A misdemeanor may be sentenced to imprisonment, probation, conditional or unconditional discharge, or a fine." Probation is available "if the court finds that such person is in need of the supervision and guidance that the probation service can provide under such conditions as the court may impose." RSA 651:2, V(a) (2007). In matters of statutory interpretation, we are the final arbiter of the intent of the legislature as expressed in the words of a statute considered as a whole. Duquette v. Warden, N.H. State Prison, 154 N.H. 737, 740 (2007). We do not strictly construe criminal statutes, but rather construe them according to the fair import of their terms and to promote justice. State v. Moran, 158 N.H. 318, 321 (2009); see RSA 625:3 (2007). Our precedents interpreting RSA 651:2 establish that a sentencing court "has broad discretion to assign different sentences, suspend [a] sentence, or grant probation in order to achieve the goals of punishment, deterrence, protection of society and rehabilitation." State v. Evans, 127 N.H. 501, 505 (1985); cf. State v. Burroughs, 113 N.H. 21, 24 (1973) (recognizing need for "options to adapt [a] sentence to a particular individual in the manner best suited to accomplish the constitutional objectives"). In State v. Perkins, for example, the trial court sentenced the defendant to the State hospital for one year

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