Mississippi § 99-39-9 - Requirements of motion and service.

§ 99-39-9. Requirements of motion and service.

A motion under this article shall name the State of Mississippi as respondent and shall contain all of the following: The identity of the proceedings in which the petitioner was convicted. The date of the entry of the judgment of conviction and sentence of which complaint is made. A concise statement of the claims or grounds upon which the motion is based. A separate statement of the specific facts which are within the personal knowledge of the petitioner and which shall be sworn to by the petitioner, including, when application is made pursuant to Section 99-39-5, a statement that there exists a reasonable probability that the petitioner would not have been convicted or would have received a lesser sentence if favorable results had been obtained through DNA testing at the time of the original prosecution; that the evidence to be tested was secured in relation to the offense underlying the challenged conviction and (i) was not previously subjected to DNA testing, or (ii) although previously subjected to DNA testing, can be subjected to additional DNA testing that provides a reasonable likelihood of more probative results; and that the chain of custody of the evidence to be tested established that the evidence has not been tampered with, replaced or altered in any material respect or, if the chain of custody does not establish the integrity of the evidence, that the testing itself has the potential to establish the integrity of the evidence. For purposes of this paragraph, evidence that has been in the custody of law enforcement, other government officials, or a public or private hospital shall be presumed to satisfy the chain-of-custody requirement, absent specific evidence of material tampering, replacement or alteration, and that the application for testing is made to demonstrate innocence or the appropriateness of a lesser sentence and not solely to unreasonably delay the execution of sentence or the administration of justice. A specific statement of the facts which are not within the petitioner’s personal knowledge. The motion shall state how or by whom said facts will be proven. Affidavits of the witnesses who will testify and copies of documents or records that will be offered shall be attached to the motion. The affidavits of other persons and the copies of documents and records may be excused upon a showing, which shall be specifically detailed in the motion, of good cause why they cannot be obtained. This showing shall state what the petitioner has done to attempt to obtain the affidavits, records and documents, the production of which he requests the court to excuse. The identity of any previous proceedings in federal or state courts that the petitioner may have taken to secure relief from his conviction and sentence. A motion shall be limited to the assertion of a claim for relief against one (1) judgment only. If a petitioner desires to attack the validity of other judgments under which he is in custody, he shall do so by separate motions. The motion shall be verified by the oath of the petitioner. If the motion received by the clerk does not substantially comply with the requirements of this section, it shall be returned to the petitioner if a judge of the court so directs, together with a statement of the reason for its return. The clerk shall retain a copy of the motion so returned. The petitioner shall deliver or serve a copy of the motion, together with a notice of its filing, on the state. The filing of the motion shall not require an answer or other motion unless so ordered by the court under Section 99-39-11(3).