State v. Jefferson, 060420 OHCA8, 108791
| Judge | FRANK D. CELEBREZZE, JR., P.J., and KATHLEEN ANN KEOUGH, J., CONCUR |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
| Docket Number | 108791 |
| Parties | STATE OF OHIO, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SELL JEFFERSON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Date | 04 June 2020 |
Criminal Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. CR-74-017177-ZA
JUDGMENT: AFFIRMED
Michael C. O'Malley, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and Tasha L. Forchione, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.
Sell Jefferson, pro se.
JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION
EILEEN A GALLAGHER, JUDGE
{¶1} Appellant Sell Jefferson, appearing pro se, appeals the trial court's denial of his "motion to vacate a void judgment sentence" stemming from the life sentence imposed for his 1975 aggravated murder conviction. The crux of this appeal consists of a challenge to the trial court's order returning Jefferson to prison after he was erroneously released, a challenge previously rejected by several courts. As the Ohio Supreme Court recently observed, "Jefferson has unsuccessfully raised numerous challenges to the trial court's authority to order him back to prison on the 1975 aggravated-murder life sentence." State ex rel. Jefferson v. Russo, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-338, ¶ 4. We affirm.
{¶ 2} Jefferson assigns one error: The trial court erred, or abused its discretion when it denied the Appellant's motion to vacate, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction to issue a capias and return the appellant back to prison that included violating the double jeopardy clause in the United States Constitution.
Factual Background and Procedural History
{¶ 3} In 1975, Jefferson was convicted of aggravated robbery and aggravated murder. Id. at ¶ 2. For aggravated robbery, the trial court sentenced Jefferson to a prison term of 7 to 25 years and for aggravated murder the court sentenced him to life in prison. Id. This court affirmed Jefferson's convictions and sentence. Id. For some reason, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction was not notified of Jefferson's aggravated murder conviction and life sentence and, in 1981, it erroneously placed Jefferson on parole before granting him final release in 1982. Id. at ¶ 3.
{¶ 4} In 1985, Jefferson was indicted on new charges. Id. at ¶ 4. The trial court issued a capias for his arrest in both the 1975 and 1985 cases. Id. Jefferson was convicted on the new charges and sentenced to an aggregate term of 7 to 15 years in prison. Id. The trial court ordered this sentence to run concurrent with his 1975 life sentence. Id.
{¶ 5} In 1988, Jefferson sought a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that his 1982 discharge from parole rendered the trial court without jurisdiction to order him back to prison to serve his life sentence. Id. The Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected this argument and, in doing so, found that Jefferson's parole was void. Jefferson v. Morris, 48 Ohio App.3d 81, 548 N.E.2d 296 (4th Dist.1988). The court observed that "[e]ven though appellant was recommitted to serve his sentence by a subsequent order of the trial court, he is being held under the original judgment and sentence * * *." Id. at 82. The court further noted that it was not statutorily possible for Jefferson to have been granted parole in 1981: A prisoner serving a sentence for life for the offense of aggravated murder, which sentence was imposed for an offense committed prior to October 19, 1981, becomes eligible for parole after serving a term of fifteen full years. R.C. 2967.13(B). Manifestly, appellant was not eligible for parole and the Adult Parole Authority was without authority to parole appellant since by his own admission appellant had served only about five years of his life sentence.
Id. at 83.
{¶ 6} In 2016, Jefferson filed the instant motion and the trial court denied it. Jefferson failed to timely appeal and a motion for delayed appeal was granted.
{¶ 7} In 2018, Jefferson sought a writ of mandamus in this court, seeking to compel the trial court to hold a hearing on the trial court's...
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