Richard Harrison Mason v. Mississippi Department of Corrections

FAIR, J., FOR THE COURT: ¶ 1 Richard Mason was convicted of sexual battery in 2005 and was sentenced to serve thirty years in prison. Mason contends that he is eligible for meritorious earned time, a conditional reduction in sentence that operates as an "incentive for offenders to achieve positive and worthwhile accomplishments for their personal benefit or the benefit of others." Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-142 (Rev. 2015). The Mississippi Department of Corrections disagreed, and after Mason brought this lawsuit, the circuit court found him ineligible as well. Because Mason is a sex offender and statutorily barred from meritorious earned time, we affirm. DISCUSSION ¶ 2 Mason bases his argument on section 47-5-142(1), which states that "any" offender shall be eligible to receive meritorious earned time, "subject to the provisions of this section ... as distinguished from earned time for good conduct and performance." He points out that he is an offender and that nothing in section 47-5-142 expressly prohibits him from being eligible. ¶ 3 However, Mississippi Code Annotated section 47-5-139(1)(d) (Rev. 2015) provides: "An inmate shall not be eligible for the earned time allowance if ... [t]he inmate was convicted of a sex crime." This Court has repeatedly held that, notwithstanding the broad language in section 47-5-142, eligibility for meritorious earned time is controlled by section 47-5-139. See Riley v. State , 150 So.3d 138 , 140 n.2 (Miss. Ct. App. 2014) ; Clark v. Miss. Dep't of Corr. , 148 So.3d 403 , 404-05 (¶¶ 8-9) (Miss. Ct. App. 2014) ; Smith v. State , 75 So.3d 82 , 83-84 (¶ 5) (Miss. Ct. App. 2011) ; Sykes v. Epps , 963 So.2d 31 , 32-33 (¶ 7) (Miss. Ct. App. 2007) ; Golden v. Epps , 958 So.2d 271 , 275 (¶ 8) (Miss. Ct. App. 2007). ¶ 4 The circuit court correctly dismissed Mason's complaint because, having been convicted of a sex crime, Mason is not eligible to have his sentence reduced for meritorious earned time. ¶ 5 AFFIRMED. LEE, C.J., IRVING AND GRIFFIS, P.JJ., BARNES, CARLTON, WILSON, GREENLEE AND WESTBROOKS, JJ., CONCUR. TINDELL, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.