Woods v. Mississippi

Casey Woods was indicted on one count of first degree murder, stemming from the shooting of his girlfriend’s estranged husband. Woods also was indicted on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The counts were severed and the case proceeded to trial solely on the murder charge. A jury found Woods guilty of second degree murder, for which Woods was sentenced as a habitual offender under Mississippi Code Section 99-19-83 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Woods’s trial counsel did not file any post-trial motions. Woods appealed, arguing: (1) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to overcome the presumption afforded by the Castle Doctrine that he acted reasonably when he killed Pierre Tenner; and (2) he received constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel. Woods waived his insufficient evidence argument; however, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel with regard to Woods’s trial counsel’s failure to file a post trial motion for a new trial challenging the weight of the evidence. View "Woods v. Mississippi" on Justia Law