Mark Austin Burge v. Robert H. Butler, Sr., Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

Because the state trial court misunderstood the effective date of a new sentencing statute, a defendant convicted of a felony was sentenced under a statute that did not apply to his crime and to a sentence that was not authorized by the state legislature. We hold that he was deprived of liberty without due process of law, and accordingly grant habeas corpus relief unless the state shall resentence him under a statute applicable to his offense.

I

On July 28, 1976, Mark Austin Burge committed acts that led to his indictment by the State of Louisiana on charges of…