Further, Mississippi Code Section 99–19–1"expressly provide[s] that the previous law will remain in effect for the purpose of providing punishment, unless otherwise specially provided in the new statute." Wells v. State , 202 So.3d 1230, 1234 (Miss. 2016) (citing Miss. Code Ann. § 99–19–1 (1972) ). With the twenty-year sentence being the proper punishment under the appropriate statute, the thirty-year sentence cannot be held as ameliorative.
In 2014, section 41-29-139 was amended to prescribe a maximum prison sentence of eight years for possession of "[l]ess than two (2) grams or ten (10) dosage units" of cocaine with intent to distribute. Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-139(b)(1)(A) (Supp. 2014); Wells v. State, 202 So.3d 1230, 1232 (¶7) (Miss. 2016).