Opinion ID: 1893912
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: guilt-finding phase

Text: Hill complains, for the third time in this Court, that he is entitled to relief from the guilt-finding phase because he was denied lesser included offense instructions authorizing the jury to find him guilty of either murder less than capital or manslaughter. Consideration and reconsideration of this issue is barred because the identical issue was considered and decided adversely to Hill on direct appeal, Hill v. State, 432 So.2d at 440-41, and again on his second motion for leave to file in the lower court a writ of error coram nobis. In re Hill, 467 So.2d at 671-72. Hill's attempt to revive this claim runs afoul of the res judicata bar found in Miss. Code Ann. § 99-39-21(3), as well as the direct appeal bar found in § 99-39-21(2), the successive writ bar found in § 99-39-27(9), and the bar imposed by the three-year statute of limitations contained in § 99-39-5(2). We hold, therefore, that Hill is not entitled to post-conviction relief with respect to the guilt-finding phase. Hill's application for leave to file in the trial court a motion to vacate conviction of capital murder and Hill's motion to vacate his conviction of capital murder are both DENIED. Because, on the other hand, Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-101 (Supp. 1993), precludes this Court from performing either a reweighing of aggravating versus mitigating factors or a harmless error analysis as a matter of state law, Hill's application for leave to file a motion to vacate death sentence and his motion to vacate death sentence are GRANTED. Hill's sentence of death is vacated, and this case is remanded to the Circuit Court of Desoto County for a new sentencing hearing. Hill's Motion For Leave To Proceed In Forma Pauperis is GRANTED. Hill's Motion To Stay Proceedings is DENIED. The State of Mississippi's Motion To Expedite is DENIED as moot. HILL'S APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO FILE MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION DENIED. HILL'S APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO FILE MOTION TO VACATE DEATH SENTENCE GRANTED AND REMANDED TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF DESOTO COUNTY FOR A NEW SENTENCING HEARING. HILL'S MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS DENIED. HILL'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS GRANTED. STATE'S MOTION TO EXPEDITE DENIED. STATE'S MOTION TO FILE SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF GRANTED. PRATHER, P.J., and SULLIVAN, PITTMAN and BANKS, JJ., concur. DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents in part with separate written opinion joined by SMITH, J. McRAE, J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by LEE, P.J., and SMITH, J. SMITH, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with separate written opinion joined by LEE, P.J., and JAMES L. ROBERTS, Jr., J.