Thomas N. Allen v. Stanton Heidle, Warden

Syllabus

The pro se Petitioner, Thomas N. Allen, appeals the habeas corpus court's summarydismissal of his second petition for writ of habeas corpus for failure to state a cognizableclaim for relief. Specifically, the Petitioner alleges that his life sentence for first degreemurder is illegal and his judgment of conviction is void because (1) the trial court'scomments regarding parole eligibility were in direct contravention of the relevant statuteand (2) the statutory sentencing scheme for persons convicted of first degree murderrendered his sentence unfairly disparate and in direct contravention to the purposes andprinciples of the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989 (\the SentencingAct\). He further claims that the habeas corpus court erred by failing to appoint himcounsel despite the Petitioner's indigent status. After review, we affirm.