Criminal Statutes of Limitations
Mississippi

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-3-65.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.
3. Op.Atty.Gen. No. 2008-00673, Greenlee, January 23, 2009, 2009 WL 367663—The crime of statutory rape under § 97-3-65 falls within the definition of “rape” as used in § 99-1-5, and is therefore not subject to the two-year statute of limitation contained in § 99-1-5.  See also Azomani v. State, 222 So. 3d 282, 286 (Miss. 2017) (“[E]ven though statutory rape was not expressly set out in Section 99-1-5, ‘it is within the definition of rape for purposes of the exceptions to the general two-year statute of limitations.’”).

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-3-71.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. No time limit for sexual battery of a child (§ 97-3-95 (1)(c), (1)(d), and (2)).  This includes sexual battery where: (a) victim is at least 14 but under 16 and offender is at least three years older than victim; (b) victim is under 14 and offender is at least two years older than victim; or (c) victim is under 18 and offender is in a position of trust or authority over the child;
2. No time limit for sexual battery of another (§ 97-3-5 (1)(a) and (1)(b)) if the identity of the accused is later discovered due to results of DNA testing of biological evidence; otherwise
3. Legal proceedings against perpetrator for all other sexual battery must commence within two years after commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-3-95.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-3-104.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. There is no time limit for commencing legal proceedings against a perpetrator of this crime.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-5-23.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-5-27.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-5-29.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. There is no time limit for commencing legal proceedings against a perpetrator of this crime.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-5-33.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-5-41.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-29-3.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-29-5.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-29-7.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-29-27.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-29-31.
2. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

1. Legal proceedings against perpetrator must commence within two years after the commission of the offense.

1. Citation for the crime: Miss. Code § 97-29-59.

1. Citation for the statute of limitations: Miss. Code § 99-1-5.

Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Lawrence v. Texas, it is unconstitutional to prohibit private sexual conduct between consenting adults.  Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003); see also Doe v. Hood, 345 F Supp. 3d 749, 762 (S.D. Miss. 2018) (calling into question the constitutionality of this statute).

• Miss. Code § 99-1-5: “Nothing contained in this section shall bar any prosecution against any person who shall abscond or flee from justice, or shall absent himself from this state or out of the jurisdiction of the court, or so conduct himself that he cannot be found by the officers of the law, or that process cannot be served upon him.”

• Crawford v. State, 754 So. 2d 1211 (Miss. 2000) (overruled on other grounds)
• Held that the term “rape” as used in § 99-1-5 is not unconstitutionally vague—the statute clearly excludes rape from a statute of limitations whether it is defined as rape or capital rape; where a small child is threatened with harm to himself or family if he tells about being raped, this tolls the rape limitations statute until the child is removed from the threatening environment.
• Morris v. State, 595 So. 2d 840, 845 (Miss. 1991)
• The sexual abuse of children has been recognized as a continuing course of conduct and the statute of limitations does not begin to run until such course of conduct terminates.
• Where a small child is threatened with harm to himself or herself, or family, if he or she tells, the statute of limitations is tolled until the child is removed from the threatening environment.
• Civil Actions:
• Miss. Code § 15-1-49 Actions without prescribed period of limitation; actions involving latent injury or disease
• All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed must be commenced within three years next after the cause of such action accrued.
• In actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed and which involve latent injury or disease, the cause of action does not accrue until plaintiff has discovered, or by reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury.
• Miss. Code § 15-1-59 Person under disability of infancy or unsoundness of mind
• If any person entitled to bring any of the personal actions shall, at the time at which the cause of action accrued, be under the disability of infancy or unsoundness of mind, he may bring the actions within the times in this chapter respectively limited, after his disability shall be removed as provided by law. The saving in favor of persons under disability of unsoundness of mind shall never extend longer than 21 years.