Washington v. State

620 So. 2d 966, 1993 WL 209544
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJune 17, 1993
Docket91-KP-0571
StatusPublished
Cited by90 cases

This text of 620 So. 2d 966 (Washington v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Washington v. State, 620 So. 2d 966, 1993 WL 209544 (Mich. 1993).

Opinion

620 So.2d 966 (1993)

Charles WASHINGTON,
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 91-KP-0571.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

June 17, 1993.

Charles Washington, pro se.

Michael C. Moore, Atty. Gen., Ellen Y. Dale, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before HAWKINS, C.J., and McRAE and ROBERTS, JJ.

*967 ROBERTS, Justice, for the Court:

Charles Washington pled guilty to the crimes of armed robbery and aggravated assault on May 31, 1988 in the Leflore County Circuit Court before the Honorable Durward Gray Evans. On June 17, 1988, Washington was sentenced to serve a term of twenty-five (25) years for armed robbery and ten (10) years for aggravated assault, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

On May 24, 1991, Washington filed a Motion to Vacate and Set Aside or in the alternative Motion to Correct Sentence under the Uniform Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act. The Circuit Court overruled this motion on May 31, 1991. Washington appeals the denial of this motion and asserts the following three errors:

I.
WASHINGTON'S GUILTY PLEAS WERE NOT KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTELLIGENTLY MADE IN COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 3.03 OF THE MISSISSIPPI UNIFORM CRIMINAL RULES OF CIRCUIT COURT PROCEDURE.
II.
WASHINGTON DID NOT RECEIVE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL.
III.
WASHINGTON SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING ON HIS CLAIMS.

We find that Washington is entitled to an evidentiary hearing, and accordingly, we reverse.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

On or about February 18, 1988, Washington was charged with armed robbery of a jewelry store and the aggravated assault of the owner of the store. On May 31, 1988, Washington entered a plea of guilty after first pleading not guilty to the charges after conferring with counsel on this matter. Washington was sentenced to twenty-five years for Armed Robbery and ten years for Aggravated Assault, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The statute under which Washington was sentenced has a mandatory ten year period to be served before the prisoner is eligible for parole. Washington contends that he was not advised of the mandatory period by either his attorney or the trial judge. In fact, Washington alleges that his attorney led him to believe that he would be eligible for parole in six years and three months, as any "regular prisoner." Washington alleges that it was not until he was imprisoned at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman that he learned he was required to serve a mandatory ten year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

On May 24, 1991, Washington filed a Motion to Vacate and Set Aside or in the alternative Motion to Correct Sentence under the Uniform Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act, Miss. Code Ann. §§ 99-39-1 through 99-39-29 (Supp. 1992). The Circuit Court overruled the Motion by Order dated May 31, 1991. Washington appealed to this Court.

DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUES

I.

WERE WASHINGTON'S GUILTY PLEAS KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTELLIGENTLY MADE IN COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 3.03 OF THE MISSISSIPPI UNIFORM CRIMINAL RULES OF CIRCUIT COURT PROCEDURE?[1]

Pursuant to the Mississippi Uniform Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act, Miss. *968 Code Ann. §§ 99-39-1 through 99-39-29 (Supp. 1992), a petitioner is entitled to an incourt opportunity to prove his claims if the claims are "procedurally alive `substantial[ly] showing denial of a state or federal right.'" Horton v. State, 584 So.2d 764, 767 (Miss. 1991) (quoting Neal v. State, 525 So.2d 1279, 1281 (Miss. 1987)). Accordingly, this Court must decide whether Washington is entitled to an evidentiary hearing where he will have an opportunity to prove his claims.

In Vittitoe v. State, 556 So.2d 1062 (Miss. 1990), this Court stated:

[b]efore a person may plead guilty to a felony he must be informed of his rights, the nature and consequences of the act he contemplates, and any relevant facts and circumstances, and thereafter, voluntarily enter the pleas. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). The question necessarily involves issues of fact. Sanders v. State, 440 So.2d 278, 283 (Miss. 1983). Over the years the law has provided a number of criteria for judging charges of involuntariness, such as the quality of the advice of counsel. Leatherwood v. State, 539 So.2d 1378, 1388 (Miss. 1989).

Vittitoe, 556 So.2d at 1063. See also Myers v. State, 583 So.2d 174 (Miss. 1991); Wilson v. State, 577 So.2d 394 (Miss. 1991). Furthermore, a sentence and conviction based upon a guilty plea where a defendant was not made aware of a mandatory minimum sentence at the time of the plea can be reversed. Alexander v. State, 605 So.2d 1170, 1172 (Miss. 1992) (citing Vittitoe v. State, 556 So.2d 1062 (Miss. 1990)). In Alexander, the defendant alleged that he pled guilty to armed robbery after his attorney assured him that he would be eligible for parole after serving one-fourth of his sentence, that is, three years and nine months. The defendant did not learn that there was a mandatory ten year sentence required for an armed robbery conviction until he arrived at the penitentiary. This Court reversed and remanded the defendant's case for an evidentiary hearing to be held on the questions of ineffective assistance of counsel, and whether the defendant's guilty plea was made knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently. Alexander, 605 So.2d at 1171-1172.

Washington contends that at no time was he advised either by his counsel or by the trial judge that there was a mandatory minimum sentence he would have to serve before becoming eligible for parole. Washington was convicted and sentenced under § 47-7-3 Miss. Code Ann. (1972), as amended. It states in pertinent part:

(d) No person shall be eligible for parole until he shall, on or after January 1, 1977, be convicted of robbery or attempted robbery through the display of a firearm until he shall have served ten (10) years. .. . The provisions of this paragraph (d) shall also apply to any person who shall commit robbery or attempted robbery on or after July 1, 1982, through the display of a deadly weapon. [Emphasis added].

The emphasized portion of the statute is important. Washington committed armed robbery with a knife, not a firearm. However, as he committed the crime in 1988, the mandatory ten year sentence was to be applied to his case.

In reviewing the transcripts of Washington's change of plea hearing and his sentencing hearing, there is a definite indication that both the assistant district attorney during the change of plea, and Washington's attorney during the sentencing hearing, as well as the trial judge, were confused or misinformed as to the statute under which Washington was pleading guilty. In the change of plea hearing, the following transpired between the trial judge, the assistant district attorney and Washington:

Q. [BY THE COURT]: ... You are entering an open plea, Mr. Washington. That means that the State does not have to make a recommendation to the Court and you are charged here with armed robbery and aggravated assault. The statute on armed robbery, if the Court *969

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Reginald Desmond Wallace v. State of Mississippi
264 So. 3d 1 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2018)
David Shanklin v. State of Mississippi
211 So. 3d 757 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2016)
Batiste v. State
184 So. 3d 290 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2016)
Jason Isham v. State of Mississippi
161 So. 3d 1076 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2015)
Jackson v. State
178 So. 3d 807 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2014)
Moffett v. State
156 So. 3d 835 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2014)
Collier v. State
112 So. 3d 1088 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)
Grayson v. State
118 So. 3d 118 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2013)
Havard v. State
86 So. 3d 896 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2012)
Eric Moffett v. State of Mississippi
Mississippi Supreme Court, 2010
Johnson v. State
39 So. 3d 14 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2010)
Howell v. State
989 So. 2d 372 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2008)
Burton v. State
970 So. 2d 229 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2007)
Spicer v. State
973 So. 2d 184 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2007)
Thorson v. State
994 So. 2d 707 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2007)
Branch v. State
961 So. 2d 659 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2007)
Lynch v. State
951 So. 2d 549 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2007)
Harrell v. State
947 So. 2d 309 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
620 So. 2d 966, 1993 WL 209544, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/washington-v-state-miss-1993.