Sellars v. Evans
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Following a jury trial, Gabriel Evans was found guilty of kidnapping with bodily injury, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the beating of
Aretha Perkins. Evans' convictions were upheld on appeal. After filing an unsuccessful habeas petition to challenge his conviction in 2001, Evans filed a second habeas petition in 2009, seeking relief based on the Supreme Court's then-controlling decision in "Garza v. State," which established new factors for assessing the asportation element as required for kidnapping. Analyzing the Garza factors, the habeas court granted relief, finding that the duration of the movement of the victim was short, the movement was incidental to the aggravated assault, the movement appeared to be an inherent part of the aggravated assault, and the movement did not place the victim in more danger than she was already in at that point, and set aside the conviction and sentence for kidnapping with bodily injury. The warden appealed. Finding no error in the second habeas court's analysis, the Supreme Court affirmed.
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