Tillis v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed Zenas Tillis’s conviction for simple assault of an employee of a private correctional facility and his five-year consecutive sentence. The majority held that a nurse employed by a contractor but working exclusively at the facility could qualify as a dual employee under Mississippi Code section 47-4-1(4). A partial dissent would have vacated the enhanced sentence because the jury, rather than the court, should have determined the victim’s employment status under Apprendi.

Holdings

1. The term employee in Mississippi Code section 47-4-1(4) includes a dual employee who works for both a private correctional facility and a contracting company, even if the facility does not pay the employee's wages.
2. The evidence was sufficient for reasonable jurors to find that Hogue was an employee of Walnut Grove, and the circuit court properly denied Tillis's motions for directed verdict, peremptory instruction, and new trial.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Mississippi Code section 47-4-1(4) includes a contract worker who is also a dual employee of a private correctional facility.
2. Whether the evidence satisfied the statutory and indictment requirement that Hogue was an employee of a private correctional facility.
3. Whether the circuit court properly denied Tillis's motions for directed verdict, peremptory instruction, and new trial.

Disposition

affirmed