GEORGIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LIFE SENTENCE FOR BIBB MAN

A Bibb County man could stay in prison the rest of his life after the
Georgia Supreme Court upheld his sentence for drug convictions in a
ruling Monday.

Darion Barker's attorneys had successfully gotten the life sentence
thrown out last year by arguing that it was based on his repeat
offender status, which they disputed. After Barker challenged his
incarceration, a court ruled that the sentence was not valid because
Barker's previous convictions were based on guilty pleas that he did
not "intelligently or voluntarily" enter.

The series of events that led Barker to the state's highest court
began when he first pleaded guilty at age 25 to cocaine possession
and theft by taking in 1989, according to a case summary published
Monday. In that case, he was sentenced to 60 days in prison and four
years on probation.

Barker, who is now in his mid-40s, pleaded guilty in 1993 to
marijuana and cocaine possession with intent to distribute. He was
sentenced to six years, to run concurrently with the 1989 sentence.

In 1994, Barker received five years in prison and 10 years probation
when he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to
distribute and possession of marijuana.

Barker was again charged with possession of cocaine with intent to
distribute and obstruction of an officer. That time, he went before a
jury, which convicted him in 1996. He received his sentence of life
in prison without parole, which was upheld by the Georgia Court of
Appeals in 1997.

In 2008, Barker's attorneys filed a "habeas corpus" petition in the
county where he was imprisoned. That court ruled that his sentence as
a repeat offender was illegal because it was based on
constitutionally invalid prior convictions, and the court set them aside.

Monday, the high court vacated that decision, stating that evidence
did not show a miscarriage of justice or substantial denial of
constitutional rights.

The state Attorney General's Office successfully argued before the
justices that Barker failed to challenge his 1993 and 1994
convictions at the time of his 1996 trial or in the later appeal. By
Barker not making the claim at the earliest time, the justices ruled
it was procedurally defaulted."

The case is still not settled, though.

Barker alleged that he had ineffective counsel who failed to
challenge those prior convictions during his appeal. The justices
said the habeas court did not address the ineffective counsel claim,
nor did Barker's attorneys explain why their client did not challenge
those guilty pleas sooner.

The Georgia Supreme Court sent it back to habeas court to determine
whether there is evidence to support his claims.