Melvin Powell v. Donald W. Wyrick

HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

Donald W. Wyrick, warden of the Missouri State Penitentiary, appeals from the district court’s order granting Melvin Powell’s petition for habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1976). For the reasons discussed below, we reverse.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Powell was convicted by a jury in Missouri circuit court of first degree robbery and sentenced to fifty-eight years imprisonment. The trial court reduced the term of imprisonment to forty years on Powell’s post-trial motion for reduction of sentence. The conviction was affirmed on appeal, State v. Powell,…