Opinion ID: 1588912
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether Sumrell Was Properly Sentenced Under Mississippi's Habitual Offender Statute.

Text: ¶ 15. Mississippi's habitual-offender statute, Mississippi Code Annotated Section 99-19-83 provides: Every person convicted in this state of a felony who shall have been convicted twice previously of any felony or federal crime upon charges separately brought and arising out of separate incidents at different times and who shall have been sentenced to and served separate terms of one (1) year or more in any state and/or federal penal institution, whether in this state or elsewhere, and where any one (1) of such felonies shall have been a crime of violence shall be sentenced to life imprisonment, and such sentence shall not be reduced or suspended nor shall such person be eligible for parole or probation. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-83 (Rev.2007). We note at the outset that the State must prove that the Sumrell actually served one year or more on two felony convictions. At trial, the trial court admitted the Mississippi Department of Corrections pen pack into evidence. The pen pack established the following facts: 1. Sumrell was convicted of armed robbery, cause number 22,242, and sentenced to probation on September 23, 1991. 2. Sumrell's probation on the armed robbery conviction was revoked on February 22, 1993, and he was sentenced to a three-year sentence. Sumrell began serving this sentence on February 11, 1993. 3. Sumrell was convicted of possession of cocaine, cause number 23,077, on February 22, 1993, and he was sentenced to a three-year sentence to run concurrently with his robbery sentence. Sumrell began serving this sentence on February 11, 1993. 4. An amended order was entered on July 20, 1993. 5. Sumrell was released from jail on both the robbery and possession-of-cocaine sentences on March 23, 1994. ¶ 16. The above facts indicate that Sumrell served more than one year on both sentences. All the documents in the pen pack establish that Sumrell, in fact, was sentenced and served a year on the separate offenses of robbery and possession of cocaine. Therefore, the circuit court did not err in sentencing Sumrell in the present case as a habitual offender under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 99-19-83.