Taylor v. State
| Docket Number: | 2009-KA-00669-COA Linked Case(s): 2009-KA-00669-COA ; 2009-CT-00669-SCT ; 2009-CT-00669-SCT ; 2009-CT-00669-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 10-11-2011 Opinion Author: Irving, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Possession of marijuana in correctional facility - Section 99-19-83 - Prior conviction - Crime of violence - Disproportionate sentence Judge(s) Concurring: Myers and Russell, JJ. Judge(s) Concurring Separately: Barnes, J., specially concurs without separate written opinion Maxwell, J., specially concurs with separate written opinion joined in part by Russell, J. Carlton, J., specially concurs with separate written opinion joined by Barnes, J., and joined in part by Russell, J. Dissenting Author : Roberts, J. Dissent Joined By : Lee, C.J., Griffis, P.J., and Ishee, J. Nature of the Case: CRIMINAL - FELONY Appealed from Court of Appeals |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 03-20-2009 Appealed from: Leflore County Circuit Court Judge: W. Ashley Hines Disposition: CONVICTED OF POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AND SENTENCED AS A HABITUAL OFFENDER TO LIFE IN THE CUSTODY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, WITHOUT ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE OR PROBATION Case Number: 2007-0328 |
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| Note: | On August 1, 2013, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals. The opinion can be found at http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO87282.pdf | |
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Carlos Taylor |
ERIN E. PRIDGEN |
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| Appellee: | State of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: LAURA H. TEDDER |
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| Topic: | Possession of marijuana in correctional facility - Section 99-19-83 - Prior conviction - Crime of violence - Disproportionate sentence |
| Summary of the Facts: | In 2000, Carlos Taylor was convicted of statutory rape and selling marijuana. While serving time for those offenses, Taylor was convicted of possessing marijuana in a correctional facility. The circuit court subsequently sentenced Taylor as a habitual offender to life without eligibility for parole or probation. Taylor appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Taylor argues that the circuit court erred in finding that his conviction for statutory rape constitutes a prior conviction of a violent crime. Taylor was sentenced under section 99-19-83, which mandates a life sentence when a defendant has two prior convictions on which he has served at least a year, one of which is “a crime of violence.” In Bandy v. State, 495 So. 2d 486, 492 (Miss. 1986), the Mississippi Supreme Court, when confronted with the question of whether the attempted sexual assault of a child constituted a crime of violence, held that: “In the absence of a legislative standard, we adopt the rationale that a separate standard of determining violence applies when the victim is a child. Thus . . . assault with attempt to commit sodomy . . . was . . . a crime that was violent, per se.” Thus, there was no error in the circuit court’s determination that Taylor’s prior conviction for statutory rape constitutes a crime of violence sufficient to sentence him as a habitual offender to life without eligibility for parole or probation. Taylor also argues that his life sentence is disproportionate to his crime of marijuana possession in a correctional facility. Taylor was sentenced, within the statutory range, to a mandatory life sentence, and he has failed to show that his sentence is disproportionate. |
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