Billy Edgar Murrellv.The State
Billy Murrell was convicted of multiple offenses arising from sexual abuse and received a 35-year sentence. After an appellate remittitur vacated one terroristic-threats conviction, the State later asked the trial court to clarify how the remaining sentence should be computed when the parole board began considering Murrell for release. The trial court ruled that a remaining count was intended to run consecutively and effectively increased the time Murrell would serve. The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider the clarification motion filed years after the relevant term and statutory correction periods. The original judgment was not void, and a later order could not retroactively change the sentence. Under the governing concurrency statute, the vacated count did not authorize the court to convert the remaining sentence into a consecutive term. The court vacated the clarification order and remanded with direction for the trial court to dismiss the State’s motion.
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