Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (2026)

Robbery; use of deadly weapon

✓ current as of July 2026
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Every person who shall feloniously take or attempt to take from the person or from the presence the personal property of another and against his will by violence to his person or by putting such person in fear of immediate injury to his person by the exhibition of a deadly weapon shall be guilty of robbery and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned for life in the state penitentiary if the penalty is so fixed by the jury; and in cases where the jury fails to fix the penalty at imprisonment for life in the state penitentiary the court shall fix the penalty at imprisonment in the state penitentiary for any term not less than three (3) years.

Codes, 1942, § 2367; Laws, 1932, ch. 328; Laws, 1974, ch. 576, § 4, eff. 4/23/1974.


Notes of Decisions
Cited in 509 cases (35 in the last 5 years), 1975–2026 · leading case: Eric James Foster v. State of Mississippi, 148 So. 3d 1012 (Miss. 2014).
Eric James Foster v. State of Mississippi, 148 So. 3d 1012 (Miss. 2014). · cites it 119× “Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (Rev. 2014). ¶13.”
Hampton v. State, 148 So. 3d 992 (Miss. 2014). · cites it 44× “Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (Rev. 2014). ¶ 13.”
Goff v. State, 14 So. 3d 625 (Miss. 2009). · cites it 16× “Robbery is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-79 as follows: Every person who shall feloniously take or attempt to take from the person or from the presence the personal property of another and against his will by violence to his person or by putting such person…”
Rickie Omar Smith v. State of Mississippi, 250 So. 3d 421 (Miss. 2018). · cites it 14× “] Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (Rev. 2014). The Court has held that the "elements of robbery are such that a robbery indictment need not list the specific item that is the subject of the robbery.”
Williams v. State, 134 So. 3d 732 (Miss. 2014). · cites it 20× “Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (Rev.2006). ¶ 9.”
Randy Charles Wilson v. State of Mississippi, 194 So. 3d 855 (Miss. 2016). · cites it 8× “At the time of the crime, Mississippi Code Section 97-3-79 (1972) set the maximum penalty as death but provided that if the jury failed to “fix the penalty at death, the court shall fix the penalty at imprisonment in the penitentiary for any term not less than three years.”
Spann v. State, 771 So. 2d 883 (Miss. 2000). · cites it 14× “The indictment was amended to reflect that the underlying felony was the crime of armed robbery, committed in violation of Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (Rev.1994). ¶ 4.”
Walker v. State, 913 So. 2d 198 (Miss. 2005). · cites it 6× “Walker claims that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he formed the requisite intent to commit any felony act, specifically that of robbery, as outlined in Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (2000). According to Walker, there was no evidence to indicate he ever…”
Dambrell v. State, 903 So. 2d 681 (Miss. 2005). · cites it 16× “Dambrell was indicted pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-79 and convicted in the Jackson County Circuit Court of attempted armed robbery and sentenced *683 to six years in the custody of Mississippi Department of Corrections.”
Cox v. State, 793 So. 2d 591 (Miss. 2001). · cites it 8× “Shorty argues that only a jury may impose a life sentence pursuant to the robbery statute, Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (1999). He claims that the court committed reversible error in not relying on the actuarial tables and that the sentence of thirty years amounts to an improper…”
Johnson v. State, 29 So. 3d 738 (Miss. 2009). · cites it 11× “” Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-79 (Rev. 2006). However, the trial court must have imposed a sentence that is “reasonably less than life.”
Hughes v. State, 983 So. 2d 270 (Miss. 2008). · cites it 6× “Mississippi Code Annotated Section 97-3-79, states, in pertinent part, that: Every person who shall feloniously take or attempt to take from the person or from the presence the personal property of another and against his will by violence to his person or by putting such person…”
— Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-79(1994) — 2 cases
State v. U.G., 726 So. 2d 151 (Miss. 1998).
State v. UG, 726 So. 2d 151 (Miss. 1998).
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