Powell v. State
Powell v. State
Opinion
The appellant, Michael Lamar Powell, an inmate in the Alabama prison system, appeals from the Limestone Circuit Court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
In his petition, the appellant contends that he is entitled to be released from prison because, he says, his sentence has expired. The relevant portion of the record reflects that in 1987, the appellant was convicted in the Mobile Circuit Court for unlawfully breaking and entering a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 15 years in prison; that sentence was split and he was ordered to serve 3 years in confinement and then the balance on probation. The appellant was subsequently released from prison and placed on probation. While on probation, he committed several new offenses. In 1991, pursuant to a plea agreement relating to these new offenses, the appellant pleaded guilty and was convicted in the Mobile Circuit Court of two counts of third-degree burglary, two counts of the unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and one count of illegal use of a credit card. In accordance with the plea agreement, the appellant was sentenced on December 3, 1991, to 30 years' imprisonment for each of the five cases, the five sentences to be served concurrently with each other and with the remainder of the appellant's sentence for his 1987 conviction, which the appellant became obligated to serve after his probation was revoked. On April 15, 1996, pursuant to an agreement reached after the appellant filed a Rule 32, Ala. R. Crim. P., petition, the Mobile Circuit Court issued cm order stating that the appellant had completed his sentence for the 1987 conviction.
The appellant maintains that he is being unlawfully incarcerated because, he says, his five 1991 sentences, which were to run concurrently with his 1987 sentence, "expired" in April 1996, when the Mobile court issued the order stating that he had completed his sentence for the 1987 conviction. This claim is without merit.
Section
"When a prisoner is serving two or more sentences which run concurrently, the sentence which results in the longer period of incarceration yet remaining shall be considered the term to which such prisoner is sentenced for the purpose of computing his release date and correctional incentive time under the provisions of this article."
Under §
The appellant also contends that the Limestone Circuit Court erred in denying him relief on his claim that prison officials have mistreated him and have interfered with his right of access to the courts by intentionally impeding his access to a law library, by opening his clearly marked legal-related mail outside his presence, by returning to the publisher books and publications he had ordered, by punishing him for ordering such books and publications, and by confiscating and withholding his personal mailing materials used to pursue his legal claims. *Page 737
The relief the appellant seeks from the alleged mistreatment and the obstruction of his access to the court system is not cognizable under a writ of habeas corpus; the appropriate remedy in this case for his complaints, if proved, would not be release from custody. Taylor v. State,
Finally, the appellant contends that under the 1991 plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two counts of third-degree burglary, but that the Department of Corrections' inmate summary sheet erroneously reflects that one of those burglary convictions was for second-degree burglary. Furthermore, the appellant contends that the inmate summary sheet erroneously reflects that the sentence for the second-degree burglary conviction was to be served consecutively, rather than concurrently, with the sentences he received for his other 1991 convictions. The state does not specifcally refute these claims. The appellant maintains that as a result of these errors, the Department of Corrections has miscalculated his date of eligibility for parole consideration. As the appellant alleges, his inmate summary sheet indeed reflects convictions in 1991 for second-degree burglary and third-degree burglary and also reflects that the sentence for his second degree burglary conviction was to be served consecutively with the sentences for his other 1991 convictions. The record contains a transcript of the guilty plea proceedings that took place in 1991. The transcript of the guilty plea proceedings clearly reflects that although the appellant was originally charged with one count of second-degree burglary and one count of third-degree burglary, the appellant pleaded guilty to and was convicted of two counts of third-degree burglary; the transcript further reflects that the appellant's sentences for both of these convictions were to be served concurrently with each other and with the sentences for his other 1991 convictions. See Ex parte Powell,
REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.*
ALL THE JUDGES CONCUR.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Michael Lamar Powell v. State.
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published