Rochell v. Mississippi
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In 1992, Arvin Rochell was indicted for two counts of capital murder for killing Hazel and Nell McMahan, and for one count of arson. Arvin Rochell, acting pro se, appealed the Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Rochell styled his petition as a “Motion to Clarify Parole Eligibility” and argued that he was “being unlawfully held in custody due to [the] Mississippi Department of [Corrections’] holding that he is ineligible for parole under [Mississippi Code Section] 47-7-18(1)[.]” Rochell cited the first part of Section 47-7-18(1), which stated that “Each inmate
eligible for parole pursuant to Section 47-7-3, shall be released from incarceration to parole supervision on the inmate’s parole eligibility date, without a hearing before the board, if . . .” Relying on this language, Rochell argued that all parole-eligible inmates like himself “are now subject to the new parole release procedures in 47-7-18.” He further argued that the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) was incorrect when it determined that Section 47-7-18 applied only to inmates sentenced after July 1, 2014, the date that Section 47-7-18 took effect. Rochell argued Section 47-7-18 applied retroactively to all parole-eligible offenders. The Supreme Court concluded that 47-7-18(1) did not apply retroactively to Rochell's case, and affirmed the Circuit Court's denial of post-conviction relief.
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