Opinion ID: 1557127
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the Trial Court Subjected Parker to Double Jeopardy.

Text: ¶ 19. Parker argues that the trial court erred by subjecting him to double jeopardy. Specifically, Parker claims that he was convicted of capital murder instead of deliberate-design murder. Parker further argues that capital murder and possession of a firearm on educational property have the same elements, and that firearm possession on educational property is a lesser-included offense of capital murder. This Court reviews a claim of double jeopardy de novo. Boyd v. State, 977 So.2d 329, 334 (Miss.2008). ¶ 20. The Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. U.S. Const. amend. V; Deeds v. State, 27 So.3d 1135, 1139 (Miss. 2009). Similarly, Section 22 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 provides that `no person's life or liberty shall be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense; but there must be an actual acquittal or conviction on the merits to bar another prosecution.' Miss. Const. art. 3, § 22; id. at 1139. ¶ 21. In the instant appeal, Parker cites Edwards v. State, 737 So.2d 275, 321 (Miss.1999), to support his position that possession of a firearm on educational property was the underlying felony in the capital-murder charge and thus the grounds for his double-jeopardy claim. The defendant in Edwards was charged with two counts of capital murder while engaged in the commission of an armed robbery, as well as one count of armed robbery. Id. at 284. This Court held that it was double jeopardy to convict the defendant of both capital murder with armed robbery as the underlying offense and armed robbery, and reversed the armed-robbery conviction. Id. at 321. ¶ 22. The present case is easily distinguished from Edwards. Parker's indictment charged him with one count of deliberate-design murder pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 97-3-19, as well as one count of possession of a firearm on educational property pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 97-37-17. Section 97-3-19(1)(a) defines murder, in part, as the killing of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any manner shall be murder in the following cases: (a) [w]hen done with deliberate design to effect the death of the person killed, or of any human being. Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-19(1)(a) (Rev. 2006) (emphasis added). The elements of firearm possession on educational property include possessing or carrying a gun, either openly or concealed, on a community college campus. Miss.Code Ann. § 97-37-17(2) (Rev.2006). [3] The pertinent language of the indictment reads: (1) [Parker] did unlawfully, willfully and feloniously, without the authority of law, and with deliberate design effect death, kill and murder a human being, and (2) did unlawfully, willfully and feloniously and without authority of law, possess a firearm, to-wit: a pistol, while on the campus of Coahoma Community College.... ¶ 23. Parker's claim that the charge in count one encompassed the charge in count II is unsupported by the record. Parker was charged with and convicted of separate crimes, as evinced by the language in the indictment and the jury instructions. Each charge consists of entirely different elements, requiring different facts. Double jeopardy is not violated where a defendant is convicted of separate crimes. See Lee v. State, 469 So.2d 1225, 1228-29 (Miss.1985). Thus, it is illogical for Parker to argue on appeal that trial court subjected him to double jeopardy, as he was not tried twice for the same crime. ¶ 24. Additionally, Mississippi Code Section 99-7-2 states: (1) Two (2) or more offenses which are triable in the same court may be charged in the same indictment with a separate count for each offense if: (a) the offenses are based on the same act or transaction; or (b) the offenses are based on two (2) or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. (2) Where two (2) or more offenses are properly charged in separate counts of a single indictment, all such charges may be tried in a single proceeding. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-7-2 (Rev.2007). Here, the trial court correctly tried Parker in a single proceeding, and Parker's criminal charges were based on a single, continuous act. Parker's offenses were properly charged in separate counts; thus the trial court did not subject Parker to double jeopardy.