Opinion
No. 59144.
May 25, 1977.
APPEAL FROM 21ST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, PARISH OF TANGIPAHOA, STATE OF LOUISIANA, HONORABLE BURRELL J. CARTER.
Timothy R. Higgins, Morrison Higgins, Hammond, for defendant-appellant.
William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Leonard E. Yokum, Dist. Atty., William M. Quin, Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
The sentence imposed upon the defendant in the instant case, life imprisonment without benefit of pardon, probation or parole for twenty years, is improper. Gubernatorial pardon or communication, constitutionally permitted, may not be precluded by the terms of an imposed sentence. La.Const. Art. 4, § 5 (1974); State v. Williams, 338 So.2d 672 (La. 1976).
Defendant's conviction is affirmed, but his sentence is vacated and set aside and the case is remanded for resentencing in according with the foregoing.