Mack Arthur King v. State of Mississippi

In December of 1980, King was convicted of the murder of Mrs. Lelia Patterson and sentenced to death. This Court affirmed that conviction and sentence. King v. State, 421 So. 2d 1009 (Miss. 1982), cert. denied 461 U.S. 919, 103 S. Ct. 1903, 77 L.Ed.2d 290 (1983). Subsequently King petitioned this Court for leave to file in the circuit court a petition for writ of error coram nobis. This Court denied that petition without prejudice, holding that certain grounds were barred as res judicata, and others were procedurally barred by Kings failure to raise them at trial or on appeal. The only ground not so barred was Kings claim that he was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel. This claim was dismissed without prejudice for failure to comply with court rule. King v. Thigpen, 441 So. 2d 1365 (Miss. 1983).