Background
In January 2022, Ellen Huebner pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a life sentence in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
On June 17, 2025, Huebner filed a post-conviction-relief petition. She argued that her guilty plea lacked a factual basis and invoked a previously recognized fundamental-rights exception to the three-year filing deadline. The circuit court denied and dismissed the petition based on Howell v. State.
The Court’s Holding
The Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed. Huebner filed her petition more than three years after entry of her judgment following the guilty plea, making it untimely under Mississippi Code section 99-39-5(2).
The court explained that Howell overruled cases applying a judicially created fundamental-rights exception to the statutory deadline. Huebner neither alleged a statutory exception nor addressed Howell or explained why the former exception should still apply.
Key Takeaways
- Mississippi PCR petitions following guilty pleas generally must be filed within three years of the judgment.
- Howell eliminated the judicially created fundamental-rights exception to that time bar.
- A petitioner must allege a valid statutory exception to overcome an untimely filing.
Why It Matters
The decision applies Howell’s rule that courts may not disregard the Legislature’s PCR limitations period through a judicial fundamental-rights exception. Petitioners challenging guilty pleas after the deadline must identify and support a statutory exception.