Puckett v. State
Decision Date | 27 May 2004 |
Docket Number | No. 2000-DR-01077-SCT.,2000-DR-01077-SCT. |
Parties | Larry Matthew PUCKETT v. STATE of Mississippi. |
Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel by Robert Ryan, Louwlynn Vanzetta Williams, attorney for appellant.
Office of the Attorney General by Marvin L. White, Jr., attorney for appellee.
EN BANC.
¶ 1. Larry Matthew Puckett (Puckett) was indicted during the January 1996 term of the Circuit Court of Forrest County, Mississippi, for the capital murder of Rhonda Hatten Griffis on October 14, 1995, while engaged in the commission of the crime of sexual battery in violation of Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-19(2)(e). Venue was changed on Puckett's motion to the Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi, First Judicial District. A jury was empaneled on July 29-30, 1996. The jury returned a unanimous verdict finding Puckett guilty of capital murder on August 2, 1996, and a verdict imposing a sentence of death in proper form on August 5, 1996.
¶ 2. Puckett's death sentence was set to be carried out on September 13, 1996. Puckett's Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict or in the Alternative Motion for New Trial, as well as his supplemental Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict or in the Alternative Motion for New Trial, were denied, and his execution was stayed pending appeal on August 9, 1996. ¶ 3. Puckett raised fifteen claims of error in his automatic direct appeal. This Court found his claims to be without merit, save one, and remanded the case back to the trial court mandating that a hearing be conducted under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). See Puckett v. State, 737 So.2d 322 (Miss.1999)
. The trial court held the required hearing on August 25, 1999, and denied all relief on August 25, 1999. On appeal of that decision, this Court affirmed the denial of relief on the Batson issue, the conviction of capital murder, and the sentence of death. Puckett v. State, 788 So.2d 752 (Miss.2001).
¶ 4. Puckett then petitioned the United States Supreme Court for writ of certiorari in November of 2001. The United States Supreme Court denied the petition on March 3, 2003, and Puckett's petition for rehearing on April 21, 2003. Puckett v. Mississippi, 537 U.S. 1232, 123 S.Ct. 1384, 155 L.Ed.2d 195 (2003); reh'g denied, 538 U.S. 995, 123 S.Ct. 1823, 155 L.Ed.2d 697 (2003).
¶ 5. In the interim of Puckett's petition to the United States Supreme Court, this Court appointed the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel (MOCPCC) to represent Puckett in his state post-conviction proceedings. Puckett's counsel petitioned this Court for clarification of its August 2002 order, from which this Court issued its opinion on December 12, 2002, granting Puckett 180 days within which to file his petition for post-conviction relief. Puckett v. State, 834 So.2d 676 (Miss.2002).
¶ 6. This Court's opinion on Puckett's direct appeal contains the following facts:
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