Sanford Mason v. State of Mississippi

WILSON, J., FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. In 1982, Sanford Mason was tried and convicted of the crime of rape in the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court. The jury returned a guilty verdict and also found that Mason should serve a life sentence. The court sentenced Mason to serve a life term without parole as a habitual offender. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Mason's conviction and sentence on direct appeal. Mason v. State , 440 So.2d 318 (Miss. 1983).

¶ 2. In 2013, Mason filed an application in the Mississippi Supreme Court for permission to file a petition for post-conviction relief in the circuit…