Lee v. State

PIERCE, Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Gary Lee pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to armed robbery in 1982. In 2010, Lee filed a petition for habeas corpus (post-conviction relief under Mississippi law) with the Sunflower County Circuit Court. The Honorable Richard A. Smith denied Lee’s petition, finding it barred by the three-year statute of limitations in Mississippi Code Section 99-39-5(2) (Supp. 2011). Because Lee’s petition falls outside the three-year statute of limitations and because the trial court may dismiss a petition when it plainly appears from the face of the motion that…