State ex rel. Bates v. Eppinger (Slip Opinion)

{¶ 1} We affirm the Ninth District Court of Appeals’ dismissal of the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by appellant, Robert L. Bates.

{¶2} In 2002, Bates was indicted on one count of aggravated murder with firearm specifications. A jury did not find Bates guilty of aggravated murder but found him guilty of the lesser offense of murder and guilty of the specifications. The trial court sentenced Bates to 15 years to life in prison for the murder and 8 years of actual incarceration for the specifications, to run consecutively to the murder sentence. The Tenth District Court of Appeals…