Barber v. State, 316 Ga. App. 701

Barber was convicted by a DeKalb County jury of rape, statutory rape, and child molestation for acts around June 2007.
The trial court sentenced Barber under OCGA § 17-10-7 (c) to life without parole for rape and concurrent 20-year terms for the other offenses.
Barber had prior felonies: 2001 felony assault and receiving stolen property in Ohio; 2002 impersonating a police officer in DeKalb County; and a third felony, forgery, after June 2007 but before this case.
OCGA § 17-10-7 (c) applies when a defendant has three prior felonies and commits a fourth; it prohibits parole for the fourth or subsequent offenses.
The State argued the third prior felony counts for 17-10-7 (c) because it occurred before the crimes in this case, though its conviction occurred after.
The appellate court held that the third prior felony did not count since the felony was committed after the current offenses, vacated the sentence, and remanded for resentencing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the third prior felony counts for 17-10-7 (c) apply.	Barber contends the third prior felony did not precede the offenses.	State argues the third prior felony counts under 17-10-7 (c) based on the commission date.	OCGA § 17-10-7 (c) does not apply; sentence vacated and remanded.

Covington v. State, 226 Ga. App. 484 (1997) (date of offense—not conviction—governs 17-10-7 (c) applicability (Dobbs cited))
Covington v. State, 231 Ga. App. 851 (1998) (clarifies 17-10-7 (a) context; cited for Dobbs framework)
Dobbs v. State, 180 Ga. App. 714 (1986) (foundation for interpretation of 17-10-7 (c))
Perkins v. State, 277 Ga. 323 (2003) (strict construction of criminal statutes against the State)
Strength v. Lovett, 311 Ga. App. 35 (2011) (statutory interpretation requires plain meaning)