STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. WILLIE WILLIAMS
Annotate this CaseNOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-5135-08T45135-08T4
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
WILLIE WILLIAMS,
Defendant-Appellant.
______________________________________________________
Submitted April 27, 2010 - Decided
Before Judges Skillman and Simonelli.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Mercer County, Indictment
No. 722-81.
Willie Williams, appellant pro se.
Joseph L. Bocchini, Jr., Mercer County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Dorothy Hersh, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief).
PER CURIAM
This is an appeal from the denial of a fourth petition for post-conviction relief.
Defendant was found guilty of a murder committed in Trenton State Prison on March 14, 1981. The judgment of conviction was entered on May 20, 1982.
On his direct appeal, we affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence in an unreported opinion. State v. Williams, A-4815-81T4 (Nov. 4, 1985), and the Supreme Court denied his petition for certification, 103 N.J. 467 (1986). Since then, we have affirmed the denial of defendant's first three petitions for post-conviction relief. State v. Williams, A-6020-86T4 (June 7, 1988), certif. denied, 113 N.J. 362 (1988); State v. Williams, A-2744-93T4 (Oct. 26, 1995), certif. denied, 143 N.J. 520 (1996); State v. Williams, A-2951-00T4 (Feb. 20, 2003), certif. denied, 177 N.J. 493 (2003).
The trial court summarily denied defendant's fourth petition for post-conviction relief, concluding that "defendant's arguments are without merit and have been previously adjudicated, pursuant to Rule 3:22-12 and Rule 3:22-5."
On appeal, defendant presents the following arguments:
POINT ONE:
AN ILLEGAL SENTENCE CAN BE CORRECTED AT ANY TIME, R. 3:22-12.
POINT TWO:
WILLIAMS WAS SENTENCED TO A DISCRETIONARY LIFE SENTENCE.
POINT THREE:
THE COURT DOUBLE-COUNTED ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME AS AGGRAVATING FACTORS 2C:44-1a(1), (2), AND (6) TO DETERMINE WILLIAMS'S DISCRETIONARY EXTENDED TERM LIFE SENTENCE IN VIOLATION OF NEW JERSEY LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
I. NOTWITHSTANDING THAT A LIFE
SENTENCE UNDER 2C:11-3 AND
2C:43-7 IS ORDINARY, THE
SENTENCE MUST BE FASHIONED
USING AGGRAVATING AND MITIGAT-
ING FACTORS, 2C:44-1a and b.
II. WEIGHING AGGRAVATING AND
MITIGATING FACTORS IS REQUIRED
IN WILLIAMS'S DISCRETIONARY
LIFE SENTENCE.
III. THE COURT DOUBLE-COUNTED
ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME AS
AGGRAVATING FACTORS, 2C:44-1a(1)
and (2). STATE V. WILLIE
WILLIAMS, DOCKET NO. A-5135-08T4.
IV. THERE IS NO FACTUAL BASIS OR
COMPETENT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT
THE COURT'S ASSESSMENT THAT
THE MURDER OF MR. MURPHY
WAS COMMITTED IN A "HEINOUS,
CRUEL, AND DEPRAVED" MANNER
UNDER AGGRAVATING FACTOR
2C:44-1a(1).
V. THE COURT DOUBLE-COUNTED
WILLIAMS'S PRIOR RECORD
AGGRAVATING FACTOR, 2C:44-1a(6)
TO FASHION HIS SENTENCE.
POINT FOUR:
DOUBLE-COUNTING AGGRAVATING FACTORS REQUIRES THAT WILLIAMS IS RE-SENTENCED.
Defendant's arguments are clearly without merit. R. 2:11-3(e)(2). We only note that none of defendant's arguments relate to the legality of his sentence, see State v. Flores, 228 N.J. Super. 586, 590-97 (App. Div. 1988), certif. denied, 115 N.J. 78 (1989), and thus the five-year limitations period on the filing of petitions for post-conviction relief provided by Rule 3:22-12(a) applies to defendant's petition.
Affirmed.
(continued)
(continued)
2
A-5135-08T4
May 7, 2010
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