MS SB2254

Amends Mississippi's habitual offender statutes (Sections 99-19-81 and 99-19-83) to add a 10-year "washout" period for counting prior felony convictions

Prior convictions will not count toward habitual offender status if more than 10 years have elapsed between the current offense and the expiration of correctional supervision or imprisonment for the prior offense

Applies to both the general habitual offender law (requiring maximum sentence without parole/probation eligibility) and the violent habitual offender law (requiring mandatory life imprisonment)

Currently, there is no time limit on how old prior convictions can be when determining habitual offender status; this change would allow older convictions to expire for sentencing enhancement purposes

Effective date: July 1, 2023