Willie Qualls ordered to be resentenced

CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Miss. (VDN) — 

A Mississippi appeals court has ordered Vicksburg native Willie Qualls to be resentenced after the state didn’t show proper evidence that he should have been sentenced as a habitual offender.

Qualls was sentenced to life in prison in 2023 after being convicted as a habitual offender for possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.

On Tuesday, the Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled that prosecutors failed to provide sufficient proof during trial that Qualls qualified for sentencing under the state’s violent habitual offender statute.

The court also ruled that double jeopardy protections prevent the state from attempting to prove again that Qualls was a repeat violent offender. Instead, Qualls must now be resentenced under the nonviolent habitual offender statute.

“Our appellate courts have consistently remanded for resentencing when the record on appeal demonstrates that the state failed to present competent evidence of a defendant’s habitual status at trial,” the court wrote. “The proper remedy in this case is to vacate the sentencing order and remand for resentencing.”

The case stems from a 2018 altercation involving Qualls and an unidentified woman outside Simps Bar in Claiborne County. Surveillance footage showed Qualls firing a shot into the air before he was later shot in the hip.

Qualls was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Arthur Newell and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. A jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the murder charge but found Qualls guilty of the weapons charge.

Claiborne County Circuit Judge Tomika Irving sentenced Qualls to life in prison.