United States v. Pettiford

BAILEY ALDRICH, Senior Circuit Judge.

In March .1991 appellee Brian A. Pettiford (hereinafter, defendant) was convicted of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm in violation. of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Because he had nine prior .state convictions for violent felonies, he received a minimum mandatory sentence of fifteen years pursuant to the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). In 1994, all but one of. the prior convictions were vacated by the Massachusetts state courts, and in 1995 the district court granted federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the…