Larry Bardney v. State of Mississippi, 236 So. 3d 825

Background

In September 1994, two people (Tommie Penn and Patricia Young) were attacked; both later died; witnesses placed Larry Bardney at the scene and observed him chasing the victims. Blood consistent with Penn was found on Bardney's underwear and a shirt recovered at the scene was tied to him.
Bardney was indicted for the murders of Penn and Young and pleaded guilty to both counts on June 19, 1995; the circuit court informed him of constitutional rights and potential sentences; he received two concurrent life terms.
Bardney filed a post-conviction relief (PCR) motion in 1996, which the circuit court denied; the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed in 1997.
On July 7, 2015, Bardney filed a second PCR motion asserting a fatally defective indictment and ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to move to dismiss due to a speedy-trial violation.
The Humphreys County Circuit Court denied the 2015 PCR motion on the merits; on appeal the Court of Appeals held Bardney's claims were procedurally barred (successive/time-bar) and that his ineffective-assistance claims were waived by his guilty plea.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Fatally defective indictment	Indictment omitted language that it was brought "in the name and by the authority of the State," omitted "without authority of law," and failed to allege victims were "human beings."	The indictment charged unlawful, felonious killing with malice aforethought and named the victims; the defects (if any) are non-jurisdictional and waived by a voluntary guilty plea.	Court: Procedurally barred and waived; indictment properly charged murder and any nonjurisdictional defects were waived by the guilty plea.
Ineffective assistance — failure to move to dismiss for speedy-trial violation	Counsel was ineffective for not moving to dismiss on speedy-trial grounds.	Bardney waived non-jurisdictional trial rights by pleading guilty and failed to plead facts showing counsel’s performance was deficient or that a speedy-trial claim had merit.	Court: Waived and procedurally barred; claim lacks specific factual support and does not relate to voluntariness of plea.
Successive/time-bar of PCR motion	Second PCR filed ~20 years after plea, asserting new claims.	UPCCRA requires PCR within three years of conviction for guilty pleas; successive writs barred absent narrow exceptions.	Court: PCR was time-barred and barred as a successive writ; Bardney did not meet statutory exceptions.
Waiver consequences of guilty plea	Bardney contends errors remain despite plea.	A voluntary guilty plea waives all non-jurisdictional defects and most ineffective-assistance claims except those affecting voluntariness.	Court: Plea was knowing and voluntary; therefore many claims are waived; the record shows Bardney understood rights and consequences.

Key Cases Cited

Bardney v. State, 703 So.2d 861 (affirmed without published opinion) (prior PCR appeal affirming denial)
Parish v. State, 203 So.3d 718 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016) (standard of review for PCR denials)
Rowland v. State, 42 So.3d 503 (Miss. 2010) (fundamental constitutional errors excepted from UPCCRA bars)
Jones v. State, 215 So.3d 508 (guilty plea waives ineffective-assistance claims except those implicating voluntariness)
Turner v. State, 796 So.2d 998 (term "unlawfully" synonymous with "without authority of law")
Windham v. State, 602 So.2d 798 (terms "malice aforethought" and "deliberate design" synonymous)
Coffield v. State, 749 So.2d 215 (naming victims in indictment carries implication they are human beings)
Kennedy v. State, 118 So.3d 684 (guilty plea operates as waiver of non-jurisdictional indictment defects)