IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI N O. 2016-CP-01292-COA WALLACE WAYNE WHATLEY A/K/A WALLACE WHATLEY A/K/A WALLACE W. WHATLEY APPELLANT

v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE DATE OF JUDGMENT: 08/25/2016 TRIAL JUDGE: HON. W ILLIAM E. CHAPMAN III COURT FROM W HICH APPEALED: RANKIN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: W A LLACE W AYNE W HATLEY (PRO SE) ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: DARRELL CLAYTON BAUGHN ANTHONY LOUIS SCHMIDT NATURE OF THE CASE: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 10/03/2017 MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: MANDATE ISSUED: BEFORE IRVING, P.J., WILSON AND WESTBROOKS, JJ. WILSON, J., FOR THE COURT: ¶1. W a llace W ay

n e Wh a t l e y a p p e a l s f

r om the denial of his second m o tion for postconviction relief

, in which he sought a determ ination that he is eligible f or p arole. W hatley is not eligible f

o r parole. Theref

o re, we af f irm

. ¶2. In 2010, W hatley pled guilty to selling Dilaudid, a Schedule II controlled substance, as a subsequent drug of

f ender, and the court sentenced him to sixty y ears i n the custody of the Mississippi Departm ent of Corrections (MDOC). Miss. Code Ann. §§ 41-29-139(b)(1) (Rev. 2 009) & 41-29-147 (Rev. 2013) (“[ A]ny person convicted of a s econd or subsequentof

f ense under [ the U nif

orm C ontrolled Substances A ct] m ay be im prisoned f

or a term u

p to twice the term otherwise a u t h o r i z ed

. . . .”). The sentencing order provided that af ter W h atley h ad s erved a term of t went y y ears in MDOC custody , he would be released and placed on post-release supervision f or f ive y ears. ¶3. In 2011, W hatley f iled a m otion f

or post-conviction relief

. The circuit court denied the m otion, and this Court af f irm ed. W hatley v. S

tate , 1 23 So. 3d 461 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013).
In 2016, W h a t l e y f

i l e d a successive m otion f or post-conviction relief

. H i s m otion alleged that 2014 am e ndm ents to the parole statutes m ade him e ligible f or parole, a nd he asked the circuit court to o rder MDOC to classif y him as e ligible f

or parole and gr a n t h i m a p a roleeligibility date. 1 The circuit c ourt dism issed the m otion, f i nding that it w as procedurally barred and without m erit. W h atley then appealed. ¶4. W h atley ’s claim t hat h e is eligible f or parole is without m erit

. M i s s i s s i p p i C ode Annotated section 4 7-7-3(1)(f ) (Supp. 2016) continues t o provide t hat persons convicted of “f elonies with enhanced p enalties” between June 30, 1995, and July 1, 2014, a re not eligible f or p arole. This Court has twice held that a f e lony conviction as a subsequent drug of f ender is a f elony conviction with an enhanced penalty within the m eaning of section 47-7-3(1)(f ). Lackaye v. State , 166 So. 3d 5 60, 562 (¶6) (Miss. Ct. App. 2015); Ferrell v. State , 158 So. 3d 1204, 1212 (¶38) (Miss. Ct. App. 2015). Theref ore, W hatley

is not eligible f

o r parole.

1 A m o tio n f

o r p o s t-co n v ictio n reli e f “is a p ro p er v eh icle to ch allen g e M D O C ’s d e t e r m in atio n t h at [ an in m ate] is in elig i b le f o r p aro le.” S in ko v. S ta te , 1 9 2 S o . 3 d 1 0 6 9 , 1 0 7 2 -7 3 (¶9 ) (M i ss. C t. A p p . 2 0 1 6 ) (citin g K e y s v. S ta te , 6 7 S o . 3 d 7 5 8 , 7 5 9 -6 0 (¶¶6 -9 ) (M iss. 2 0 1 1 )). 2¶5. Moreover, the f act t hat the Legislature expanded parole eligibility f or som e persons convicted af

ter July 1, 2014, see Miss. Co d e A n n . § 47-7-3(1)(g)(i), is not relevant to W h atley ’s case. “A state’s decision to expand parole eligibility o nly on a prospective basis is rational” and does not violate the constitutional r ights of of f e n ders convicted previously

. Fluker v. S

tate , 2 00 So. 3d 1148, 1149 (¶2) (Miss. Ct. App. 2016), c e rt. denied , 214 So. 3d
1 0 5 8 ( Miss. 2017). B ecause W hatley is not e ligible f or parole, the circuit court correc t l y denied his m otion f

or post-conviction relief

. ¶6. AFFIRMED. LEE, C .J., IRVING A ND GRIFFIS, P.JJ., BARNES, CARLTON, FAIR, GREENLEE AND WESTBROOKS, JJ., CONCUR.

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