Larry Dotson v. State of Tennessee, Ricky Bell, Warden - Dissenting

For the reasons stated herein, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion. I further wish to express concerns over a recurring anomaly with which we are faced. An ever-increasing number of incarcerated inmates are filing habeas corpus petitions in reliance upon the holding in McLaney v. Bell, 59 S.W.3d 90 (Tenn. 2001). These petitioners complain that their sentences are illegal, as they were required to be sentenced consecutively rather than concurrently. In the instant case, the petitioner received an effective sentence of twenty years but complains that he should have received a sentence of at least twenty-three years. At the time of his guilty plea, he was facing a sentence of forty-three years minimum, if all sentences ran consecutively. I fail to understand how the petitioner is aggrieved by the agreed sentence.