Clark v. State
| Docket Number: | 2002-CP-00855-COA Linked Case(s): 2002-CP-00855-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 08-19-2003 Opinion Author: Southwick, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Post-conviction relief - Suspended sentence - Section 47-7-33(1) Judge(s) Concurring: McMillin, C.J., Bridges, Lee, Irving, Myers, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Concurs in Result Only: King, P.J., and Thomas, J. Procedural History: PCR Nature of the Case: PCR |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 05-16-2002 Appealed from: DeSoto County Circuit Court Judge: George B. Ready Disposition: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DENIED District Attorney: John W. Champion Case Number: CV2002-0083RD |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Frederick Dewayne Clark |
PRO SE |
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| Appellee: | FState of Mississippi | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JEFFREY A. KLINGFUSS |
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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. |
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| Topic: | Post-conviction relief - Suspended sentence - Section 47-7-33(1) |
| Summary of the Facts: | Frederick Clark pled guilty to operating a chop shop and received a sentence of ten years with nine years suspended. Later that same day, Clark pled guilty to a DeSoto County charge of grand larceny and was sentenced to five years, all suspended, to run concurrently with the Panola County sentence. Later, the suspension of Clark's sentence was terminated, and Clark was again incarcerated. Clark filed a petition for post-conviction relief which was denied. He appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Clark argues that the suspended sentence given him for grand larceny was illegal because of a statute that prohibits probation for previously convicted felons. Section 47-7-33(1) prohibits the suspension of a sentence and granting of probation to defendants previously convicted of a felony. The proper interpretation of section 47-7-33 is that it prohibits the suspending of a prior felon's new sentence and it prohibits the giving of probation "as provided herein" to a former felon but does not require that both be done before the statute is violated. Thus even if unsupervised probation for a prior felon is not literally banned by this statute, a suspended sentence is. If as a result of a plea bargain a prior felon voluntarily accepts an offered suspended sentence and some form of probation, this becomes by agreement an enforceable sentence. |
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