Bobby Joe Pinkney v. State of Mississippi
192 So. 3d 337
| Miss. Ct. App. | 2015Background
- In 1984 Bobby Joe Pinkney was convicted of capital murder for killing Tracey Hickman during a burglary and sentenced to death; the conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal and later remanded by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- On remand Pinkney entered a plea agreement (1995): he pled guilty to lesser-included murder (sentenced to life) and, by criminal information, to burglary (fifteen years consecutive).
- Pinkney filed a PCR motion in 1998 that was dismissed; the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected his double-jeopardy claim and other challenges.
- In April 2014 Pinkney (pro se) filed three new PCR motions asserting: double jeopardy, defective indictment/information, and ineffective assistance of counsel; the Hinds County Circuit Court summarily dismissed all three.
- The Court of Appeals consolidated the appeals and affirmed the dismissals, holding the claims time-barred and successive in most respects, and addressing the merits (indictment sufficiency, double jeopardy, and ineffective-assistance) and finding them without merit.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procedural bars (timeliness & successive writ) | Pinkney contends exceptions apply due to fundamental constitutional errors | State: motions filed >3 years after judgment and earlier PCR bars successive motions | Motions are time-barred and successive-writ barred; no viable exception shown |
| Right to evidentiary hearing | Pinkney claims dismissal without hearing was error | State: summary dismissal appropriate where claims are procedurally barred or facially meritless | No error: trial court may summarily dismiss where movant fails to show a claim is "procedurally alive" |
| Indictment/information sufficiency | Pinkney asserts indictment/information failed to allege the particular burglarious crime and omitted elements of murder | State: indictment and information gave sufficient general notice of intended felony (larceny) and plea colloquy confirmed awareness | Indictment and information were sufficient; plea colloquy and sworn plea petition show Pinkney knew the elements |
| Double jeopardy | Pinkney argues pleading to murder and burglary (after capital murder conviction) violated double jeopardy | State: plea was to lesser-included murder and a separate information to burglary as part of plea to avoid death penalty; not multiple punishment for same offense | No double-jeopardy violation; prior Supreme Court decision rejecting the same claim is persuasive |
| Ineffective assistance of counsel | Pinkney contends counsel was ineffective for allowing entry of guilty pleas despite defective charging and double-jeopardy issues | State: ineffective-assistance claims are procedurally barred and, on the merits, Pinkney cannot show Strickland prejudice or that he would have gone to trial | Claim is time-barred/successive and substantively fails: no Strickland showing and plea avoided the death penalty |
Key Cases Cited
- Pinkney v. State, 538 So. 2d 329 (Miss. 1988) (direct appeal affirming conviction and sentence)
- Pinkney v. State, 757 So. 2d 297 (Miss. 2000) (addressing plea on remand and rejecting double-jeopardy claim)
- Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 738 (U.S. 1990) (sentencing reweighing in capital cases)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
- Hodges v. State, 912 So. 2d 730 (Miss. 2005) (sufficiency of capital-murder indictment alleging underlying felony generally)
- Berryhill v. State, 703 So. 2d 250 (Miss. 1997) (notice requirement for underlying felony in capital-murder indictment)
- Rowland v. State, 42 So. 3d 503 (Miss. 2010) (procedural-bar discussion on fundamental-right exceptions)
- Kincaid v. State, 711 So. 2d 873 (Miss. 1998) (no double-jeopardy where defendant received life for murder plus additional sentence for separate felony)