Jimmy Lee Rasco v. Warden Mulicenik

BACKGROUND

In 1996, a jury in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana found Petitioner guilty of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and carrying and using a firearm during a crime of violence. See United States v. Rasco, 123 F.3d 222, 225 (5th Cir. 1997). Because the armed robbery was Petitioner’s third “serious violent felony,” he was sentenced to life imprisonment pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c), the federal “three strikes” statute. Id. The Fifth Circuit affirmed his conviction and sentence, see id., and the Supreme Court denied Petitioner’s writ of certiorari in January 1998, see Rasco v. United States, 522 U.S. 1083 (1998). In 1999, Petitioner brought a motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the Western District of Louisiana. See United States v. Rasco, No. 99-31030 (W.D. La. Jan. 13, 1999). The district court denied Petitioner’s motion and the Fifth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed the appeal. See id. In August 2004 and June 2016, the Fifth Circuit denied Petitioner’s respective motions for authorization to file a successive § 2255 petition. See In…