Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2014

State ex rel. Nash v. State

State ex rel. Nash v. State
Supreme Court of Louisiana · Decided September 19, 2014 · Deny, Johnson
147 So. 3d 1111; 2014 La. LEXIS 1949; 2014 WL 4799041 (Southern Reporter, Third Series)

State ex rel. Nash v. State

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

L Granted; relief denied; sentence corrected. The district court erred in granting relator’s motion to correct an illegal sentence by amending his sentence to reflect that it is no longer without parole eligibility and ordering the Louisiana Department of Corrections to revise relator’s prison master accordingly. The court further erred by directing the Department to calculate an eligibility date for parole consideration according to the criteria provided by La.R.S. 15:574.4(A)(2). Although relator seeks review because the district court did not provide him the remedy he sought — resentencing according to the applicable range for the next responsive verdict of manslaughter — the district court erred in granting relator any relief. The decision in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. —, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012), is not retroactive to final sentences. State v. Tate, 12-2763 (La.11/5/13), 130 So.3d 829, cert. denied, Tate v. Louisiana, — U.S.—, 134 S.Ct. 2663, 189 L.Ed.2d 214 (2014). The district court’s order is therefore vacated in its entirety. Relator’s original sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence is reinstated. See La.C.Cr.P. art. 882 (an appellate court may correct an illegal sentence “at any time”); see also State v. Williams, 00-1725 (La.11/28/01), 800 So.2d 790. The Department of Corrections is directed to maintain relator’s prison master in conformity with the terms of the sentence required by law.

JOHNSON, C.J., would deny.

Dissenting Opinion

JOHNSON, Chief Justice,

dissents.

Li would deny the writ application.

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