Paul Norris v. State of Mississippi

MAXWELL, J., for the Court:

¶ 1. Mississippi’s post-conviction-relief (PCR) statute is clear — it requires a petitioner who lodges a post-conviction challenge to give “[a] concise statement of the claims or grounds upon which the motion is based.” 1 Petitioners do not have an unfettered right to present claims not alleged in their PCR motions. 2 But here, that is precisely what Norris is trying to do.

¶ 2. Norris, who had been convicted of four separate felonies — robbery, attempted robbery, and two counts of felony eluding — filed a PCR motion challenging the computation and proportionality of…