Dawkins v. State
| Docket Number: | 2010-CP-01287-COA Linked Case(s): 2010-CP-01287-COA |
|
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 07-19-2011 Opinion Author: Roberts, J. Holding: AFFIRMED |
|
| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Post-conviction relief - Time bar - Section 99-39-5(2) - Illegal sentence Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Myers, Barnes, Ishee, Maxwell and Russell, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: Carlton, J., concurs in result only without separate written opinion Procedural History: PCR Nature of the Case: PCR |
|
| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 02-08-2010 Appealed from: Marshall County Circuit Court Judge: Henry L. Lackey Disposition: MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DISMISSED Case Number: CV09-346 |
|
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Ellis Dawkins |
PRO SE |
||
| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: LISA LYNN BLOUNT |
|
|
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
|
| Topic: | Post-conviction relief - Time bar - Section 99-39-5(2) - Illegal sentence |
| Summary of the Facts: | In 2002, Ellis Dawkins pled guilty to one count of capital rape. He was sentenced to serve twenty years, with ten years to serve and ten years suspended. Dawkins was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation. In 2009, Dawkins filed a petition to clarify his sentence alleging that his current sentence exceeded what he agreed to accept in his plea agreement. The court dismissed the petition. Dawkins appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The circuit judge properly viewed Dawkins’s petition to clarify sentence as a post-conviction relief motion. Dawkins’s filing of a PCR motion is time barred pursuant to section 99-39-5(2) because it was filed more than three years after the entry of the judgment of conviction. Dawkins argues that the plea bargain he entered was for a term of twenty years, but the sentence actually imposed was for twenty-five years. However, a review of the transcript and the guilty-plea order shows that the circuit court sentenced Dawkins to twenty years with ten years to serve and ten years suspended. Although it is less clear as to whether Dawkins would be on five years of post release supervision or five years of supervised probation, it is of little consequence. Since Dawkins’s guilty-plea petition stated that he is not a prior-convicted felon, he would be eligible for either PRS or probation. Dawkins pled guilty to the crime of capital rape in violation of section 97-3-65. The maximum sentence for this crime is life imprisonment; the minimum is twenty years’ imprisonment. Thus, any claim by Dawkins that the imposition of a twenty-five year sentence would be illegal is not accurate since a twenty-five year sentence is clearly within the statutory parameters. If the circuit judge imposed probation, Dawkins’s sentence is still lawful since the five-year period is not considered when computing Dawkins’s total sentence. |
Home | Terms of Use | About the JDP | Feedback | Using JDP | MC Law Library | Mississippi Supreme Court
