JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday declined to hear an appeal from a Lowndes County man convicted in the death of a Columbus city employee.
The order upheld a ruling by the state Court of Appeals last year that found Robert Earl Lewis Jr. waited too long to file a post-conviction petition.
Lewis pleaded guilty to capital murder as a habitual offender on Aug. 28, 2008, in Lowndes County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Appeals Court said Lewis had three years to file the post-conviction motion, which would’ve put the deadline on Aug. 28, 2011. Lewis filed the motion on Dec. 9, 2011.
Lewis pleaded guilty to the 2006 fatal shooting of T.C. Turner, a longtime Columbus city employee.
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