Sykes v. State

¶ 1. Earnest Sykes, an inmate at the Mississippi StatePenitentiary, filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief inthe Clay County Circuit Court. The circuit court found that theaction was barred as a successive motion. The Court of Appeals ofMississippi determined on Sykes's appeal that the motion was notbarred as a second filing. Instead, the Court of Appeals held thatSykes's motion was time-barred by the three-year statute oflimitations for post-conviction relief under Miss. Code Ann. §99-39-5 (2) (Supp. 1999). Sykes v. State, No. 97-CA-00196-COA (Miss. Ct. App. March 9, 1999). For the…