Skidgel v. Hatch
Annotate this CasePetitioner Clifton Skidgel had been trying for over thirty years to get the attention of the state courts to correct his parole eligibility for the life sentences imposed on him after he pled guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in 1980. He sought certiorari from the Supreme Court to review the district court's summary dismissal of his most recent petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Court granted certiorari on the issue of the district court's order that Petitioner must serve thirty instead of ten years before consideration for parole, which the court ordered in reliance on our opinion in "Quintana v. New Mexico Department of Corrections," (668 P.2d 1101 (1983)); and denied certiorari on all remaining issues. After review, the Court expressly overruled Quintana to the extent that it was inconsistent with "Devine v. New Mexico Department of Corrections," (866 F.2d 339 (10th Cir. 1989)), reversed the district court on Petitioner's parole eligibility, and ordered the district court to issue a writ of habeas corpus providing that Petitioner shall become eligible for parole consideration upon the completion of ten years of imprisonment on the life sentence he was then serving.
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