The Supreme Court of Ohio today upheld a life sentence for Prince Charles Cotten Sr., also known as Charles D. Cotton, who was convicted of aggravated murder in 1976 and originally sentenced to death.
Cotten, an inmate at Marion Correctional Institution, filed a writ of habeas corpus with the Third District Court of Appeals. He contended that the warden must justify his continued incarceration, arguing he should be released because he was convicted under “an unconstitutional statute.”
In a unanimous per curiam decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment.
After Cotten’s conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 declared Ohio’s then-existing death penalty statute unconstitutional. Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Ohio modified Cotten’s sentence to life imprisonment. When Cotten sought a writ in July 2023, the Third District dismissed his complaint. Cotten appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.
Cotten maintained that since his life sentence was illegally imposed, he should have been released after Ohio's death penalty was declared unconstitutional. He argued that commuting his sentence to life imprisonment was illegal.
The Court ruled that alleged sentencing errors cannot be addressed by seeking a writ of habeas corpus, even for sentences alleged to be unconstitutional.
Cotten also argued his sentence was invalid because the Ohio Revised Code requires that a three-judge trial court resentence him, not the Supreme Court. He cited R.C. 2929.06(A), which states a three-judge panel must sentence him, and Rule 32 of the Ohio Criminal Rules of Procedure directing a trial court to impose his sentence.
The Supreme Court pointed out that the law requiring a three-judge panel for resentencing was not required until 1981, three years after Cotten’s death penalty was commuted and thus not applicable to his case. Regarding procedural rules, the opinion noted, “the Rules of Criminal Procedure are inapplicable to cases on appeal.”
Cotten represented himself for this appeal following an appeal in 2003 on similar grounds rejected by the Twelfth District Court of Appeals.
2023-1503 Cotten v. Frederick, Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-3250.
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