JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The Mississippi Supreme Court has given Scotty B. Lyles until Jan. 31 to file a post-conviction petition challenging his life without parole sentence for buying $106 worth of liquor with a bad check.
Lyles had argued that his sentence was too harsh for such a minor crime. The state Court of Appeals ruled in 2009 that Lyles' 13 prior crimes justified him being judged a habitual offender and the life sentence.
In Oktibbeha County, he was convicted of false pretense for writing a bad check to buy liquor at a Starkville store in 2005.
In his request this past week to the Supreme Court, Lyles claimed his rights were violated when prosecutors were allowed to amend his indictment after trial to charge him as a habitual offender.
