# FILED April 23, 1997 Cecil Crowson, Jr. Appellate C ourt Clerk IN THE COURT OF CRIMINA L APPEALS OF T ENNESSEE AT JACKSON JANUARY SESSION, 1997
DARN ELL G ENT RY, ) C.C.A. NO. 02C01-9604- CC-00115 ) Appe llant, ) ) GIBSON COUNTY V. ) ) HON. DI CK JERMAN , JR. , JUDG E STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) ) Appellee. ) (DENIAL OF MOTION TO CORRECT)

ON APPEAL FROM THE JUDGMENT OF THE CRIMIN AL COURT OF GIB SON COUNTY FOR THE APPELLANT : FOR THE APPELLEE : DARNELL GENTRY, PRO SE CHARLE S W. BURSO N N.C.S.C. #144927 Attorney General& Reporter 7466 Centennial Blvd. Nashvill e, TN 37209-1052 CLINT ON J. M ORG AN Assistant Attorney General 450 Jam es Robe rtson Parkw ay Nashvill e, TN 37243-0493 CLAYBURN PEEPLES Distri ct Attorney General 110 South College St reet Suite 200 Trenton, TN 38382
OPINION FILED ________________________ AFFIRMED THOMAS T. WOODALL, J UDGE-2- 

# OPINION

The Appellant appe als as of right fr om the trialcourt’s denial of his pro se Motion to Correct IllegalSentence. The Appell ant pled guilty to second degree murd er in the Gibson Count y Criminal Court. He was sentenced to fort y (40) years as a Stand ard Range I offen der. The Appellant argues that this sentence is il legal. We affirm the tr ial court’s denialof the Appell ant’s moti on.

The Appe llant ha s previo usly presented a petiti on for post- convicti on relief to the trial c ourt, w hich w as de nied. H e uns ucce ssfully a ppea le d this denia l to our court. Darne ll Gentry v. S tate , No. 02C 01-930 4-CC -00052 , Gibson Coun ty (Tenn. Crim. App., Jacks on, file d Jun. 29, 1994) . The issue i n the case sub judice was a rgued in the A ppella nt’s po st-con viction a ppea l. This court hel d that Appe llant’s sentence was not an ill egal sentence. Our supreme court deni ed the Appellant’ s applicat ion to appealthis deci sion on October 3, 1994.

When an issue is determined in a prior appealin the same case, the decision becomes the law of the case, precluding t he issue’s reli tigation, so long as the prior de cision is no t clearly erron eous. State v. Delk , 692 S.W.2d 431, 438 (Tenn. C rim. App. 198 5).

We agree w ith the prior h olding of th is court. Th is court sta ted: In his f inal i ssue, appell ant contends t hat his sentence of 40 years is a n ill egal sentence becaus e it i s outside t he range of punishment for a Range I offender convicted of a Class A f elony. The presen t case is sim ilar to that of State v. Terry , 755 S.W.2d 854 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1988), in which the defendant was senten ced to-3- 10 years a s a Ra nge I o ffende r for kidn appin g. At that time, a Range I offender

coul d rece iv e 2 to 6 years f or the offense of kidnapping. This Cou rt held that the 10-year sentence, which was within th e pos sible statutor y penalty

for kidnap ping was n ot illega l. We further

held that

any irreg ularity as to classifi cation or release e ligibilit y was waived by a knowing and voluntary plea of guilty. Terry , 755 S.W.2d at 855. In th e p resen t case , appe llant en tered in to a ple a barg ain agreement for a 40-year sentence as aRange I offender. Seconddegree murder is a Class A offense and t he possible r ange of punishment is 15 to 60 years. T.C .A . § 40 -35-111(b)( 1). Range I fora Class A offens e is 15 to25 ye ars. T.C. A. § 40-35- 112(a)(1). As in Terry , the se ntenc e app ellant re ceived is not illeg al, but rather, falls within the permissibl e statutor y ran ge o f punishm ent. Furthermore, any irregul arity as to classificati on was waived by appellan t’s guilty plea. T his issue is without m erit.
Gentry , No. 02C01-9304-CC-00052, slip. op. at 6 -7. Th is cour t’s prior deci sion is not clearl y erroneous as it is supported by prior court decisions.
Therefore, this issue is without m erit. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

____________________________________ THOMAS T. WOODALL, J UDGE

CONCUR:

___________________________________ JOE B. JONES, PRESI DING J UDGE

___________________________________ PAUL G. SUMMERS, JUDGE