Opinion ID: 1869014
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Prospective Application of Wille v. State

Text: In his final assignment of error, Conner contends that this Court violated the principle of meaningful appellate review by applying prospectively the finding of Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660, 661 (Miss. 1991) that a jury could not be instructed on both robbery and pecuniary gain as separate aggravating circumstances. On direct appeal, Conner had argued that the circuit court erred in allowing as separate aggravating factors robbery as well as pecuniary gain as a motive, asserting that the pecuniary gain aggravator was vague and overbroad. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-21(3) (1994) provides that the doctrine of res judicata applies to petitions for post-conviction relief. Section 99-39-21(2) further provides that: The litigation of a factual issue at trial and on direct appeal of a specific state or federal legal theory or theories shall constitute a waiver of all other state or federal legal theories which could have been raised under said factual issue; and any relief sought under this chapter upon said facts but upon different state or federal legal theories shall be procedurally barred absent a showing of cause and actual prejudice. Thus, issues raised and decided on direct appeal cannot be raised again under the Post-Conviction Relief Act using a different legal theory. Wiley v. State, 517 So.2d 1373, 1377 (Miss. 1987); Mann v. State, 490 So.2d 910 (Miss. 1986). Accordingly, this issue is procedurally barred.