Bill > SB2343

This bill modifies Mississippi's habitual offender law by changing the requirements for sentencing repeat felony offenders to life imprisonment. Currently, an individual can be sentenced to life in prison if they have been convicted twice previously of felonies and have served separate terms of one year or more, with at least one of those prior convictions being a crime of violence. The bill revises this provision to require that both previous convictions must have been crimes of violence, as specifically defined in Section 97-3-2 of Mississippi law. Under the new language, an offender would only receive a mandatory life sentence if both of their prior felony convictions are classified as violent crimes. If passed, the bill will take effect on July 1, 2025, and would make it more challenging for prosecutors to pursue life sentences against repeat offenders by requiring a stricter standard of previous violent convictions. This change could potentially reduce the number of individuals sentenced to life imprisonment under the habitual offender statute.

Justice

https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/SB/SB2343.xml