Benson v. Tennessee

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In 1986, petitioner Torian Benson, a.k.a Marcus Terry, a.k.a Marcus Benson, pled guilty in to four counts of larceny and six counts of robbery, for which he was sentenced to three years imprisonment for each larceny count and five years for each robbery count. All sentences were ordered to be served concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of five years. In 1989, petitioner entered guilty pleas to two counts of larceny and one count of aggravated assault, for which he was sentenced to three years for each count, all to be served concurrently, for an effective total sentence of three years. In 1993: petitioner entered a guilty plea to one count of theft of property over $10,000 and was sentenced to four years imprisonment; petitioner pled guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and was sentenced to a term of eight years; and petitioner pled guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance and received an eight-year sentence for one count and a four-year sentence for the other. All of the 1993 convictions were ordered to be served concurrently. In 1997, petitioner was found guilty of two counts of vehicular homicide and sentenced to a term of fifteen years for each count. Based upon the petitioner’s prior convictions, the trial court found the petitioner to be a “career offender.” Under the sentencing guidelines, this designation required the court to impose the maximum sentence for felony offenses, which in the case of vehicular homicide was fifteen years. The trial court ordered both fifteen-year sentences to be served consecutively, not only with each other but also with another four-year sentence. In 2002, acting pro se, petitioner filed three separate petitions for writs of habeas corpus challenging the validity of the 1986, 1989 and 1993 convictions. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of habeas corpus relief. Along with affirming the trial court’s initial findings, the intermediate court also held that habeas corpus relief was not available because the petitioner was not eligible for immediate release as he then-currently incarcerated on charges unrelated to those challenged in the petitions. Finding no reversible error as to the denial of habeas relief, the Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed. View "Benson v. Tennessee" on Justia Law