Considering an appeal from an order of the Superior Court entered on September 24, 2010 denying a petition for an emergency writ of habeas corpus on the merits, in which the appellant sought relief from a sentence of life in prison without parole for his 1995 convictions of felony murder, robbery and third-degree burglary, the Superior Court erred in considering that petition on the merits while the appeal of his prior local habeas petition remained pending. Instead, the Superior Court should have dismissed the petition without prejudice to the appellant's rights to file a subsequent petition following the final disposition of his appeal. Therefore, the Superior Court's September 24, 2010 order is reversed and this case is remanded to the Superior Court so that it may dismiss appellant's petition for writ of habeas corpus without prejudice.
Supreme Court Of The Virgin Islands