Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS, La. — Milton Trotter says he shouldn’t be in a Mississippi prison.
In a case before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, he claims he entered into an agreement in 1981 to plead guilty to a state murder charge and a federal kidnapping charge with the understanding he would be freed by Mississippi parole officials once he was released from federal prison.
Trotter said the state didn’t parole him, and he claims his murder conviction should be tossed because the state violated the plea agreement.
A three-judge panel said he can pursue the challenge to denial of parole, but that time ran out long ago to challenge the murder conviction on any grounds.
Trotter and two co-defendants pleaded guilty in October 1981 to federal kidnapping charges and murder charges in Lauderdale County in the death of Gail C. Allen. In sentencing documents, all three said Allen was killed in a motel in Laurel, Miss., and her body was dumped in Lauderdale County.
Trotter, Edward Davidson and Denise Daquigan were each sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and life for murder. Documents show the sentences were to be served concurrently and in a federal prison.
Davidson and Daquigan have been released from federal prison and are serving life sentences in Mississippi, according to the Department of Corrections. They are not parties to Trotter’s appeal.
In 2003, a state circuit judge denied a post-conviction petition by Trotter, saying it had not been filed within the three-year period allowed by law. Mississippi courts said even if Trotter’s petition had been filed on time, he failed to show he had new information that might result in a different outcome at trial.
Trotter’s petition was rejected by a state appeals court in 2005 and a federal judge in 2006. The courts said he had not filed the petition within the time required by law. In a post-conviction petition, an inmate argues he has found new evidence — or a possible constitutional issue — that could persuade a court to order a new trial.
He then petitioned the federal court in Jackson for a second chance. U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate ruled in December 2012 that he should have first asked permission of the 5th Circuit to pursue another appeal. Wingate sent the case to the 5th Circuit, which led to the three-judge panel’s ruling.
Trotter was paroled on the federal charge in May 2011. Records show he had been denied parole by the Mississippi Parole Board the previous month. He argues he was not told about the Parole Board action until after his release.
In filings with the appeals court, prosecutors argued that time had run out for Trotter to file appeals.
Prosecutors did not address directly the denial of parole issue except to say that under Mississippi law, the state Parole Board has sole discretion over parole issues in Mississippi.
“The Mississippi Parole Board has acted in accordance with the laws of the state and has not violated any constitutional right” argued by Trotter, prosecutors said.
According to the court record, on Jan. 24, 1981, Trotter, Davidson and Daquigan traveled from New Orleans to Inglewood, Calif. The defendants kidnapped and abducted Allen and stole her father’s car. After the kidnapping, the defendants drove to New Orleans.
Six days later, the defendants left New Orleans and arrived in Laurel. While they were at a hotel, Davidson said in court documents that he choked Allen to death. Daquigan said she helped cover up the crime. Court records show Trotter claimed to have been unconscious at the time and awoke to find Davidson and Daquigan wrapping Allen up in bed sheets.
The three were later arrested in Chicago.
Trotter argues he traded an opportunity to defend himself against a murder charge for a promise he would be free once his federal sentence ended. He said the state did not live up to its part of the bargain.
Trotter argued on each of three’s sentencing documents was the notation that “time will be served in federal prison.” He said claims that meant when he finished with his federal sentence, he would also be released from state custody.
The 5th Circuit panel sent the case back to the U.S. District Court in Jackson, Miss., on the challenge to the denial of parole issue. No hearing date for the case has been set.
Mississippi Department of Corrections records show Trotter is housed at the Wilkinson County Correctional Center in Woodville. Davidson is housed at the state prison in Leakesville and Daquigan is in the Rankin County prison.